Seven people were injured at Shanghai's Tongji University yesterday after about 1,000 fans attempted to mob David Beckham, causing a stampede that forced the soccer superstar to cut short his visit.
The stampede occurred as Beckham arrived on the pitch to meet the university's soccer team, with rowdy fans making a mad dash towards the football icon.
Shanghai police said three police officers, two university security guards and two students - one from Japan - were injured.
A teacher, who was among the staff who organised the activity, told the South China Morning Post that most of the victims were not badly hurt, though some injuries were deemed serious.
There were about 100 police and security guards at the stadium, but the teacher said they had not expected a huge crowd of outsiders to come.
Beckham, who is in China on a seven-day tour to promote the Chinese Super League, was forced to leave a few minutes later due to the chaos.
He said in a statement posted on the microblogging service Sina Weibo that he hoped the injured people recovered quickly.