Fans stampeded outside the gates of a stadium playing host to a World Cup warmup match today near Johannesburg, injuring at least 15. A police officer was seriously hurt as violence marred the countdown to the first African World Cup, which begins Friday. " He was crushed by the gates as people stormed them, trying to get in, " an official told Reuters.
Fans of Nigeria—which defeated North Korea, 3-1—stormed the gates of Makhulong Stadium in Tembisa, where free tickets were being distributed. "The crowd just overpowered me and I went down," a bleeding fan told the LA Times. "I fell down and people just fell over me."
(More 2010 World Cup stories.)