FanHouse Didier Drogba

Sad news out of the Ivory Coast today, as nearly two dozen fans were killed during a World Cup qualifier against Malawi. According to reports, there was a crush of fans inside the Felix Houphouet-Boigny arena in Abidjan and a wall collapsed, leading to over 100 injuries.

Perhaps the saddest aspect of Sunday's news is that this seems to happen with semi-regularity in stadiums around the world, and Africa especially. Simply, when you put too many people in a small space in older stadia, something bad can happen.

In a similar case to Didier Drogba's adventures with opposing fans' lazer pens, Sir Alex Ferguson is asking UEFA to investigate similar offenses affecting Cristiano Ronaldo in yesterday's Champions League match. Lyon fans are being accused of attempting to blind, distract, and bedazzle the phenom with pointers they purchased at the French equivalent of Office Depot. While it would likely take a minute of direct eye contact with the weak presentation lazers to do any real harm, Manchester United is still asking for UEFA to look into the matter. While the lazers themselves may not cause a health risk, the distractions they create may be very dangerous. We can't have world-class players running into each other half-blinded by PowerPointers.

The complaint is expected to be filed at UEFA HQ within 48 hours. No word yet on whether Sir Alex blames the rogue pointers for Lyon's scrappy performance.

(HT: Guardian Unlimited)