Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Soccer Fan Killed By Rocket

Compiled From Wire Services

A Lisbon soccer fan died after a rocket-type firecracker hit him in the stomach during the Portugal Cup final between intracity rivals Sporting and Benfica. The rocket was fired from the opposite side of Estadio Nacional into the crowded Sporting section shortly after Benfica scored, witnesses said.

Rui Mendes, 36, was hit in the abdomen and dropped to the ground, where he lay motionless while fellow spectators hurried from the area.

Mendes belonged to a Sporting fan club whose members began to leave the stadium after the incident shouting “Murderers!” to the Benfica fans.

Before 6,081 at RFK Stadium in Washington, Michelle Akers scored as the U.S. beat China 1-0 in the title game of the U.S. Women’s Cup.