A stampede at an Ivory Coast football stadium has left 22 people dead and more than 130 injured.

But the team - including Premier League stars such as Dider Drogba and Kolo Toure - still played the scheduled World Cup qualifier against Malawi after the deadly crush.

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The tragedy horror at the Houphouet-Boigny stadium in Abidjan comes just days before the 20th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster which killed 96 people.

A crowd of 50,000 people had come to the game - more than had been expected - to see the likes of Drogba, his Chelsea teammate Salomon Kalou and Toure's fellow Arsenal player Emmanuel Eboue, with tickets being sold at reduced prices.

Although the stadium had been recently renovated, the ministry of sport and the Ivorian Football Federation confirmed that a wall collapsed causing those already in the stadium to panic.

According to the AP, Interior Minister Desire Tagro told state television: "Lots of fans showed up. They started pushing to get in because the match was about to start and each and every one of them wanted to get in."

Officials have since blamed the tragedy on ticketless fans trying to get in, according to the BBC.

The incident took place before the match, but the game was allowed to proceed with the Ivory Coast claiming a 5-0 win.

And it was just the latest in a string of deadly disasters in African football, and sends out a worrying message ahead of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Past incidents include:

• Just weeks ago, on February 10, four people died from dehydration in Kumasi, Ghana during a game at the Baba Yara stadium.

• In September 2008, 13 died and 54 were injured during a stampede in Butembo, D.R. Congo after accusations that the losing side’s keeper had put a hex on the game.

• Nine people died in a World Cup qualifier between Liberia and Gambia in June 2008. Fans were either crushed against the fences or were trampled to death.

• In May 2001, the worst ever disaster to hit African football took place when 130 were killed during a game in Accra, Ghana after police fired tear gas into the stands.

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