Thousands of fans rushed the gates at the Nigeria-North Korea friendly in Johannesburg today, trying to get seats for the World Cup practice match. Early reports filtering through Twitter described a chaotic scene as matchgoers — including small children — fell beneath the crowd and were trampled. At least 20 people were injured, among them a policeman, who was carried away from the scene on a stretcher.

The earliest accounts from the stadium suggested that dozens of people had been killed, but thankfully those seem to have been exaggerated, with the latest reports suggesting no deaths and far fewer injuries. Still, FIFA is being criticized for failing to provide adequate security at a match for which tickets were free, seating was open, and crowd-flow problems should have been anticipated.

The match was being held in a northern Johannesburg suburb at the tiny Makhulong Stadium, which seats around 10,000 spectators.  The stampede began when police opened the gates to allow the crowd into the stadium, as thousands of fans rushed forward to try to claim seats.

From the Associated Press report:

"The crowd just overpowered me and I went down," said Japhta Mombelo, who was bleeding from the head. "I fell down and people just fell over me.

"That crowd is overpowering. The police have told me to stay around and they will organise an ambulance but I am still waiting."

And at least one policeman blamed FIFA:

"Fifa made the tickets free and now look," said the policeman, who refused to be identified. "Fifa wanted them free."

Details are still emerging, and it's unclear at this point where the blame should fall. Still, even given that the news is less awful than it first appeared, this is just about the worst development FIFA and South Africa could have asked for five days before the start of the World Cup.

UPDATE: According to ESPN, Nigeria, as the host team, was responsible for match security and had hired a private security firm. The police stepped in after the trouble started. 

UPDATE: FIFA have issued a statement denying all responsibility:

FIFA and the OC (local organizing committee) would like to reiterate that this friendly match has no relation whatsoever with the operational organization of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, for which we remain fully confident.

http://g.sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/blog/sow_experts/post/Thousands-stampede-outside-Nigeria-North-Korea-f?urn=sow,245999

The world cup hasn't started and Nigeria is already in the spotlight. is it really the host's team's responsibility to provide security while in another country?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQGgX8FW0PA