An autograph session with Kazakhstan's national football team players in Astana descended into a stampede as fans created chaos, forcing the athletes to be escorted away for their safety, the website infohub.kz reports.
According to Threads user yerlan_absatov, the incident occurred at a shopping and entertainment center in the capital. He said his son, Әмірлан, had waited several days to meet his idol Temirlan Anarbekov, but the event's organization was a complete failure.
"Chaos broke out, there was no air to breathe, children were crying. In the end, the footballers were simply led away to safety from the crazed crowd. We fully understand this decision, but my son is now very upset. I really hope the organizers will pay attention to what happened," he said.
The Kazakhstan Football Federation confirmed that the autograph session with national team players in Astana had to be ended early.
"Unfortunately, not everyone was able to get an autograph. We had to end the event earlier to ensure the safety of children. If your child was unable to get an autograph, please submit a request to marketing@kff.kz by September 19 at 19:00. Please provide the child's name and a parent's contact number. We will prepare a special signed card. This is not the last meeting! The next autograph session will take place," the Federation said in a statement.