The stadium is mostly known outside Corsica for the
Furiani disaster, which occurred on 5 May 1992 when one of the four terraces collapsed, causing the death of 18 people and injuring more than 2,300 others.
Background When they reached the semi-final of the
1991–92 Coupe de France, the draw gave Bastia a tie against
Olympique de Marseille, the
Division 1 leader at the time. In order to accommodate more fans, the club board decided to create a temporary terrace instead of the old
Tribune Claude Papi which could only take 750 fans. The new capacity of the terrace was 10,000.
Matchday An hour before the start of the match, problems were already noticeable, such as the instability of the structure. At 8:20 p.m., the whole structure collapsed, with supporters and journalists in the wreckage. Every medical option on the island was exhausted. The victims were eventually evacuated to the mainland, including Marseille.
Poretta Airport was quoted as resembling more of a hospital than an airport that night.
Aftermath On 8 May, an official investigation began in order to find who was responsible. After the disaster, the
FFF decided — after some hesitation — to cancel the remaining matches in the Cup. On the 12th, the investigators came to the conclusion that there had been a number of rules broken concerning the terrace. All these findings led to the investigation's conclusion "Le soir du 5 mai, il n'y a pas eu de fatalité," which translates as "On the evening of May 5, there was no fatality." Ultimately, at the trial a year later, the main protagonists were proven guilty but were only given prison sentences of less than two years. ==Recent history==