JERUSALEM (AP) — Jubilant soccer fans poured onto the field to celebrate their team's expected victory in the Israeli League championship Saturday, causing a stampede that injured at least 35 people.
Two people were seriously injured, the rest lightly injured, said Yerocham Mandola, national spokesman for an ambulance service.
The stampede occurred at the Kiryat Eliezer stadium in the northern city of Haifa, eight minutes before the end of the match between Macabbi Haifa and defending champion Macabbi Tel Aviv.
Haifa was leading 3-2, when the club's fans broke the barrier and poured onto the field.
Haifa Police spokesman Yehuda Maman said the police were forced to open the gate because fans were being crushed by the pressure of the crowd from behind.
Some of the injured were trampled underfoot in the crush, which was shown on the Israel's Channel 2 television.
The Haifa club had set up a stage with music speakers beside the field in preparation for the victory celebrations, but the game could not be completed.
It was not immediately clear how the result of the game would be determined. The Israel Football Association said it would hold a meeting of its disciplinary committee soon to consider the issue.
The last major soccer stampede occurred May 9 in Accra, Ghana, when 126 people were killed. Survivors said police fired tear gas at fans who were throwing bottles and chairs onto the field, sending panicked spectators crowding to the main gates — only to find them locked.