Armand Césari Stadium disaster
Encyclopedia
The Armand Césari Stadium disaster happened at Bastia
on the French
island of Corsica
at the Stade Armand Cesari
, on 5 May 1992. 18 people were killed when one of the terraces collapsed.
On that day, SC Bastia
faced Olympique de Marseille
for a semifinal match in the French Cup
. Marseille was arguably the best team in France at the time, and the board of Bastia wanted to take advantage of it by adding a large-capacity stand, to increase the number of seats by 50%. Local authorities approved the project without restrictions.
Before the game, the stand collapsed, killing 18 and leaving over 2,300 injured. Since then, Armand-Césari slowly improved, leaving only one of the four stands from 1992. This "under construction" stadium surprised the players from S.L. Benfica in 1997, as they believed this was the training pitch. Some major improvements finally started end of 1996, for a final capacity of 18,000.
Bastia
Bastia is a commune in the Haute-Corse department of France located in the northeast of the island of Corsica at the base of Cap Corse. It is also the second-largest city in Corsica after Ajaccio and the capital of the department....
on the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
island of Corsica
Corsica
Corsica is an island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is located west of Italy, southeast of the French mainland, and north of the island of Sardinia....
at the Stade Armand Cesari
Stade Armand Cesari
Stade Armand-Cesari is a multi-purpose stadium in Bastia, France. It is currently used mostly for football matches of SC Bastia. The stadium is able to hold 10,460 people and opened in 1932....
, on 5 May 1992. 18 people were killed when one of the terraces collapsed.
On that day, SC Bastia
SC Bastia
Sporting Club de Bastia is a French association football club based in Bastia on the island of Corsica. The club currently plays in the Championnat National, the third division of French football. Bastia previously had stints in both Ligue 1 and Ligue 2...
faced Olympique de Marseille
Olympique de Marseille
Olympique de Marseille is a French association football club based in Marseille. Founded in 1899, the club plays in Ligue 1 and have spent most of its history in the top tier of French football. Marseille have been French champions nine times and have won the Coupe de France a record ten times. In...
for a semifinal match in the French Cup
Coupe de France
The Coupe Charles Simon, commonly known as the Coupe de France , is the premier knockout cup competition in French football organized by the French Football Federation...
. Marseille was arguably the best team in France at the time, and the board of Bastia wanted to take advantage of it by adding a large-capacity stand, to increase the number of seats by 50%. Local authorities approved the project without restrictions.
Before the game, the stand collapsed, killing 18 and leaving over 2,300 injured. Since then, Armand-Césari slowly improved, leaving only one of the four stands from 1992. This "under construction" stadium surprised the players from S.L. Benfica in 1997, as they believed this was the training pitch. Some major improvements finally started end of 1996, for a final capacity of 18,000.