Retired international soccer star David Beckham was in China this week, causing a frenzy wherever he went. On Thursday, he was trying to host an event at Tongji University in Shanghai, but he caused a stampede, which left at least seven people injured.
According to The Guardian, those injured included two university security guards, two students and three officers, Shanghai police said. The stampede forced the event, in which Beckham was set to meet the university’s soccer team, to be cancelled.
The event was to take place at the university’s stadium. A thousand fans had stormed the gates, Xinmin Net, a state-run news site, reported. Photos showed men and women pushed to the ground as police tried to keep them away from Beckham.
“I almost died,” one female student told state media, reports The Telegraph. “ wanted to take a picture of Beckham [but] people kept pushing forwards...I wanted to get out [of the crowd] but I couldn't. The teachers were shouting, 'Don't push,' but the boys kept pushing. [My legs were] pressed into to my chest so I couldn't breath.”
Beckham used the Chinese social media site Weibo to apologize to fans for cancelling the event and to wish the injured a speedy recovery. “Sorry I couldn't get out on the pitch to see the teams. It was impossible to get through the massive crowds,” he wrote.
On Wednesday, Beckham had also caused a frenzy during an event with Dame Helen Mirren at a Shanghai Hotel to mark the Queen’s Birthday.
Beckham announced his retirement from soccer in May.
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