Tag: Violence in sports

Soccer’s worst disasters: Same mistakes by police, fans die

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Police fire tear gas into a crowd of soccer fans, who panic and rush for the exits. There are so many trying to escape and some of the gates are locked. The stadium becomes a death trap.

People are trampled in the desperation. Others suffocate, crushed by the weight of bodies around them.

They are the details of last weekend’s soccer game in Malang, Indonesia, where 131 people, some of them children, died in a crush after police fired tear gas at fans of home team Arema FC. It’s also the story of the Estadio Nacional disaster in Lima, Peru, in 1964, when 328 died in a panic sparked by tear gas. It was the same in Accra, Ghana, in 2001, when 126 died.

Soccer’s three worst stadium tragedies occurred over a 60-year span but are so strikingly similar that its clear lessons haven’t been learned.

The world’s most popular game has historic problems of hooliganism, and Indonesia has its share of team rivalries that have led to violence. But Arema had the only fans in the stadium. Just them and the police.

“Not a single rival supporter. How can that match kill more than 100 people?” said a sobbing Gilang Widya Pramana, the president of Arema.

The blame has landed at the feet of the police, like it did in Lima, and Accra, and elsewhere.

Some Arema supporters rushed the field in anger at their team’s loss. Yet, major soccer tragedies have almost always been caused, experts say, by a heavy-handed overreaction by police and poor stadium safety. Firing tear gas in enclosed stadiums is universally condemned by security experts. Locking exits goes against all safety regulations.

“Actually, fans killing other fans is an incredibly rare thing,” said Prof. Geoff Pearson of the University of Manchester, an expert on the policing of soccer fans. “When we look at pretty much all the major (soccer) tragedies, I can’t think of an exception off the top of my head, all of these have been caused by unsafe stadiums or practices, or inappropriate policing.”

Indonesia, a country of 273 million, is due to host next year’s Under-20 World Cup. It is soccer’s “sleeping giant,” said James Montague, a journalist and author who traveled there to watch games with fans.

Montague found a passion for soccer that matches, even outstrips, the game’s leading countries. He said he also found “largely decrepit” stadiums, corruption and mismanagement everywhere and the kind of police that would “smash me in the face with a baton just because I’m standing there watching a football match.”

Soccer was believed to have reached a turning point 33 years ago with the Hillsborough disaster, where 97 Liverpool fans died as a result of a crush at a stadium in Sheffield, England, in 1989. Police were eventually found to have been to blame for letting fans into an already overcrowded section but it took 27 years before the police’s lies and coverups — blaming drunken fans for the deaths — were fully exposed.

Hillsborough led to sweeping reforms in English soccer, making stadiums safer and demanding police change.

That echoes in Indonesia this week. So do calls for justice. Indonesian authorities have laid charges against six people for the crush, three of them police officers.

But a lack of ultimate accountability — “the state closes ranks,” Montague said — has also been a repeat feature.

A BBC report on the 50th anniversary of the Lima disaster found that only one police officer had been sentenced for soccer’s deadliest stadium tragedy, getting 30 months in prison. More than 30 years after Hillsborough, one official has been convicted of a safety offense and fined. Police were acquitted after Africa’s worst sports disaster in Accra despite an inquiry that blamed them for the reckless firing of tear gas and rubber bullets.

Soccer authorities stand helpless. FIFA, the governing body of world soccer based in Switzerland, has recommendations that tear gas should never be used in stadiums. But soccer bodies can’t dictate the tactics used by a country’s security forces, even if it’s at a soccer game.

“It is all down to the organized culture of the police,” said Ronan Evain, executive director of Football Supporters Europe, a group that represents fans’ interests.

Soccer’s inability to interfere in domestic security matters is underlined by the situation in Egypt, where a 2012 stadium riot that killed 74 people came amid a decade of harsh crackdowns on fans by security forces. Dozens of fans have been killed in encounters with police at and away from games, and some fan groups were declared terrorist organizations because they were critical of the Egyptian government, which has been widely accused of human rights violations.

The African soccer body is even based in Cairo but has no authority to intervene.

It’s the police, Pearson said, who have to be “willing to admit their mistakes and learn from their mistakes.” But that kind of institutional change is grudging.

Hillsborough did bring effective reform for England, but it stands almost alone. Lessons were lost after Lima and Accra, and the same can happen again after Indonesia.

Only days after last weekend’s tragedy, police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at soccer fans outside a stadium in Argentina and one person died in the chaos.

George Lawson worked at the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation when he raced to the unfolding tragedy at Ohene Djan Stadium in Accra 21 years ago. He remembered being stunned by the sight of dozens of bodies lying on the ground. He recalled his country coming to a standstill.

But while an inquiry demanded the stadium be totally upgraded, the only lasting change has been a bronze statue erected outside as a memorial, with the inscription: “I am my brother’s keeper.”

“When things happen like this, there’s a hullabaloo,” Lawson said. “And after some time people forget about it.”

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AP Sports Writer Graham Dunbar in Geneva contributed to this report.

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AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup and and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

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October 7, 2022
Indonesia soccer group: Some gates locked in deadly crush

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MALANG, Indonesia — Delays in unlocking the gates at an Indonesian soccer stadium after violence broke out at the end of a match contributed to a disaster in which at least 131 people died, the national soccer association said Tuesday.

The Football Association of Indonesia said it has permanently banned the chief executive and security coordinator of the team that hosted Saturday’s match, Arema FC, for failing to secure the field and promptly issue a command to unlock the gates.

“The doors should have been open, but were closed,” said Erwin Tobing, chief of the association’s discipline commission.

Because of a lack of workers, only a few people were ordered to open the gates, and they had not yet reached some doors when spectators began rushing to escape tear gas fired by police in an attempt to control fans who had entered the field, association spokesperson Ahmad Riyadh said.

He said all gates should be unlocked 10 minutes before the end of a match. But on Saturday, 7 minutes after the referee blew the final whistle, several doors were still locked, contributing to the toll in one of the world’s deadliest sporting disasters.

Police, however, continued to insist Tuesday that the gates were open but were too narrow and could only accommodate two people at a time when hundreds were trying to escape.

According to recommendations by FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation, exits at stadiums must be unlocked at all times during a game for safety purposes. Those rules don’t necessarily apply to domestic or national leagues but nevertheless are a safety standard, as is the recommendation against the use of tear gas as a crowd-control measure.

Photos from the Malang stadium showed four connecting door panels forming one gate. There were 14 gates in total.

Police said their investigation focused on video recordings from surveillance cameras at six of the 14 gates where most of the victims died.

“For those six gates, they were not closed but they were too small. They had a capacity for two people but there were hundreds coming out. There was a crush there,” police spokesperson Dedi Prasetyo told reporters. He added that the gates were the responsibility of the organizers.

Most of the deaths occurred when riot police fired tear gas and caused fans to make a panicked, chaotic run for the exits. Police acted after some of the 42,000 Arema fans ran onto the pitch in anger after their team was defeated 3-2, its first loss at home against visiting Persebaya Surabaya in 23 years.

On Monday, police announced they had removed a police chief and nine elite officers, and 18 others were being investigated for responsibility in the firing of tear gas inside the stadium.

Some survivors said some of the exit gates were locked and they were unable to escape. Most of them specifically mentioned Gate 13.

“People tried to save themselves after tear gas was fired. My group was separated from each other,” said Prasetyo Pujiono, a 32-year-old farmer from Malang who watched the match with friends near Gate 13.

“People could not stay anymore inside the stadium. We wanted to escape but the gate was closed. That is why most people died as they were trampled or suffocated,” he said. “I remember they were screaming that they cannot breathe and their eyes hurt.”

Those trying to escape finally broke through the wall next to Gate 13, leaving behind a big hole with scrawled graffiti that read: “Goodbye my brothers and sisters. 01-10-2022.”

Hundreds of Arema supporters and local residents have been paying tribute to the victims at Gates 13 and 12 since Monday. They prayed together, dropped rose petals, flower bouquets and placed several Arema scarves around the gates.

Pujianto said he moved more than 20 bodies that lay scattered around Gate 13.

“Poor them. So many bodies were scattered at Gate 13. We could not have gotten out if we had not moved them. So my friends and I carried them to the field,” he said.

Evita Triawardani, a 26-year-old Arema supporter, said that in every match she had attended, the organizers usually opened the gates 15 to 20 minutes before the game ended. But that Saturday night, she said Gate 13 was closed. She saved herself by running out of the stadium through Gate 14, which she said was open.

She said she saw people crying and gasping for air in clouds of tear gas, and parents holding their children above their shoulders so they could breathe. At least 17 children were among the dead.

The Football Association of Indonesia announced it has banned Arema from hosting any matches attended by its supporters in Malang until next year as a result of Saturday’s disaster.

Tobing said Arema’s chief executive, Abdul Harris, and the coordinator of security, Suko Sutrisno, have been banned from participating in soccer for life because they had not secured the field and delayed the opening of the gates.

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See more AP Asia-Pacific coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/asia-pacific

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October 4, 2022
Indonesia police chief, others removed over soccer disaster

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MALANG, Indonesia — An Indonesian police chief and nine elite officers were removed from their posts Monday and 18 others were being investigated for responsibility in the firing of tear gas inside a soccer stadium that set off a stampede, killing at least 125 people, officials said.

Distraught family members were struggling to comprehend the loss of their loved ones, including 17 children, at the match in East Java’s Malang city that was attended only by hometown Arema FC fans. The organizer had banned supporters of the visiting team, Persebaya Surabaya, because of Indonesia’s history of violent soccer rivalries.

The disaster Saturday night was among the deadliest ever at a sporting event.

Arema players and officials laid wreaths Monday in front of the stadium.

“We came here as a team asking forgiveness from the families impacted by this tragedy, those who lost their loves ones or the ones still being treated in the hospital,” head coach Javier Roca said.

On Monday night, about a thousand soccer fans dressed in black shirts held a candlelight vigil at a soccer stadium in Jakarta’s satellite city of Bekasi to pray for the victims of the disaster.

Witnesses said some of the 42,000 Arema fans ran onto the pitch in anger on Saturday after the team was defeated 3-2, its first loss at home against Persebaya in 23 years. Some threw bottles and other objects at players and soccer officials. At least five police vehicles were toppled and set ablaze outside the stadium.

But most of the deaths occurred when riot police, trying to stop the violence, fired tear gas, including in the stands, triggering a disastrous stampede of fans making a panicked, chaotic run for the exits. Most of the 125 people who died were trampled or suffocated. The victims included two police officers.

At least 17 children were among the dead and seven were being treated in hospitals, the Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection said. Police said 323 people were injured in the crush, with some still in critical condition.

National Police spokesperson Dedy Prasetyo said Malang police chief Ferli Hidayat had been removed along with nine members of an elite police mobile brigade and face possible dismissal in a police ethics trial.

He said 18 officers responsible for firing the tear gas, ranging from middle- to high-ranking, were being investigated.

Police are questioning witnesses and analyzing video from 32 security cameras inside and outside the stadium and nine cellphones owned by the victims as part of an investigation that will also identify suspected vandals, he said.

The parents and other relatives of Faiqotul Hikmah, 22, wailed Monday when an ambulance arrived at their home with her body wrapped in white cloth and a black blanket. She died while fleeing to exit 12 at Kanjuruhan Stadium.

A dozen friends had traveled with her to see the match, but Hikmah was one of only four who were able to enter the stadium because tickets were sold out, her friend, Abdul Mukid, said Monday. He later bought a ticket from a broker after hearing of the chaos inside the stadium in order to search for Hikman.

“I have to find her, save her,” Mukid recalled thinking.

Mukid found Hikmah’s body laid at a building in the stadium compound, with broken ribs and bluish bruises on her face. He learned that a second friend had also died from other friends who called him while he was in an ambulance taking Hikmah’s body to a hospital.

“I can’t put into words how much my sorrow is to lose my sister,” said Nur Laila, Hikmah’s older sibling. “She was just a big Arema fan who wanted to watch her favorite team play. She shouldn’t die just for that,” she said, wiping away tears.

President Joko Widodo ordered the premier soccer league suspended until safety is reevaluated and security tightened. Indonesia’s soccer association also banned Arema from hosting soccer matches for the rest of the season.

Arema FC President Gilang Widya Pramana expressed his sadness and deepest apologies to the victims and the Indonesian people, and said he is ready to take full responsibility for the tragedy at his team’s stadium.

He said the management, coach and players were in shock and speechless.

“I am ready to provide assistance, even though it will not be able to return the victims’ lives,” Pramana said at a news conference Monday at Arema’s headquarters in Malang.

“This incident was beyond prediction, beyond reason … in a match watched only by our fans, not a single rival supporter,” he said, sobbing. “How can that match kill more than 100 people?”

He said Arema FC is ready to accept any sanctions from Indonesia’s Soccer Association and the government, and “hopefully, it will be a very valuable lesson.”

Security Minister Mohammad Mahfud said he will lead an inquiry that will examine law violations in the disaster and provide recommendations to the president to improve soccer safety. The investigation is to be completed in three weeks.

Mahfud instructed the national police and military chiefs to punish those who committed crimes and actions that triggered the stampede.

“The government urged the national police to evaluate their security procedures,” Mahfud said at a news conference.

Rights group Amnesty International urged Indonesia to investigate the use of tear gas and ensure that those found responsible are tried in open court. While FIFA has no control over domestic games, it has advised against the use of tear gas at soccer stadiums.

Despite Indonesia’s lack of international prominence in the sport, hooliganism is rife in the soccer-obsessed country where fanaticism often ends in violence. Data from Indonesia’s soccer watchdog, Save Our Soccer, showed 78 people have died in game-related incidents over the past 28 years.

Saturday’s game was among the world’s worst crowd disasters in sports, including a 1996 World Cup qualifier between Guatemala and Costa Rica in Guatemala City in which over 80 died and over 100 more were injured. In April 2001, more than 40 people were crushed to death during a soccer match at Ellis Park in Johannesburg, South Africa.

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Associated Press writer Niniek Karmini in Jakarta, Indonesia, contributed to this report.

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October 3, 2022
Indonesian recalls stinging tear gas in deadly soccer melee

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MALANG, Indonesia — Dicky Kurniawan felt the sharp sting in his eyes as Indonesian police fired tear gas into the stadium.

From his seat near an exit, he said he watched the melee unfold Saturday night as angry fans poured into the field to demand answers after host Arema FC of East Java’s Malang city lost to Persebaya Surabaya, its first defeat ever on its home turf. The mob threw bottles and other objects, and the violence spread outside the stadium, where police cars were overturned and torched.

Kurniawan, 22, was shocked when police fired tear gas at spectators in the stands. As the stinging gas spread through the stadium, Kurniawan grabbed his girlfriend and — like everyone else — dashed to the exits.

The mass rush led to a stampede that killed nearly three dozen people almost instantly. The death toll reached 125 and hundreds more were injured in one of the world’s deadliest tragedies at a sporting event. More than 40,000 spectators were at the match, all Arema fans because the organizer had banned Persebaya Surabaya supporters due to Indonesia’s history of violent soccer rivalries.

“The chaos was on the field, but they fired the tear gas into the stadium stands,” Kurniawan said as he described the tragedy from his hospital bed. He received bruises on his face but said he was fortunate to survive.

“Now I am done watching soccer in the stadium,” Kurniawan said.

In the bed next to Kurniawan, teenager Farel Panji also had a lucky escape.

Panji, 16, had just left his seat to go to the exit when the tear gas came. As people ran past him to get to the exit, Panji said he got pushed down by the crowd and collapsed.

“I fainted for a while. When I woke up, I was still in the stadium seating area,” Panji said. He got home safely and was taken to the hospital the next day. Wearing an Arema jersey, Panji said Saturday’s incident did not stop him from loving the club.

Malang’s Dr. Saiful Anwar General Hospital, one of several used to treat victims, was filled Sunday with grieving relatives waiting to identify bodies in the morgue or for information about their loves ones.

Police say 323 people were injured in the crush, with some still in critical condition. At least 17 children were among the dead and seven other children are being treated at hospitals, according to the Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection.

Arema’s Chilean coach, Javier Roca, led the players and other officials in paying respect to the dead in a ceremony Monday.

Wearing black shirts, the team gathered at the statue of a lion head outside Kanjuruhan Stadium. Dozens of Arema supporters also attended, and started to cry when the players poured rose petals around the statue and prayed together.

“We came here as a team, asking forgiveness from the families impacted by this tragedy, those who lost their loves ones or the ones who are still being treated in the hospital,” Roca said.

He said soccer violence must stop.

“We feel like we got a punishment,” he said. “One match result is not worth paying with the lives of people, let alone more than 100 people.”

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October 3, 2022
Stadium tragedy exposes Indonesia’s troubled soccer history

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SEOUL, South Korea — Gaining the right to host next year’s Under-20 World Cup was a major milestone in Indonesia’s soccer development, raising hopes that a successful tournament would turn around long-standing problems that have blighted the sport in this country of 277 million people.

The death of at least 125 people at a league game between host Arema FC of East Java’s Malang city and Persebaya Surabaya on Saturday is a tragic reminder, however, that Indonesia is one of the most dangerous countries in which to attend a game.

“Do remember that the FIFA U-20 World Cup will be the worldwide spotlight since the event will be joined by 24 countries from five continents,” Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo said last month as he pushed for thorough preparations for the tournament.

Since Saturday, the domestic league has been suspended. Widodo has ordered the sports minister, the national police chief and the soccer federation to conduct a thorough investigation into the deadly stadium crush.

Indonesia was the first Asian team ever to play at a World Cup — participating in 1938 as Dutch East Indies — but despite an undoubted national passion for the sport, it has never returned to the global stage because of years of corruption, violence and mismanagement.

Data from Indonesia’s soccer watchdog, Save Our Soccer, showed 78 people have died in game-related incidents over the past 28 years.

Those accused are often associated with supporter groups that attach themselves to clubs, with the biggest boasting hundreds of thousands of members.

Arema intense rivalry with Surabaya meant that no visiting fans were allowed in the stadium on the weekend. Yet violence broke out when the home team lost 3-2 and some of the 42,000 Arema fans, known as “Aremania,” threw bottles and other objects at players and soccer officials.

Restrictions on visiting fans also have failed in the past. In 2016, despite Persib Bandung supporters being banned from a game with bitter rival Persija Jakarta, they were blamed for the death of a Jakarta supporter.

A month earlier, a Persib fan had been beaten to death by Jakarta followers.

In 2018, local media reported a seventh death in six years related to Indonesia’s biggest soccer rivalry.

Soccer fans have accused security officials of being heavy-handed in the past and on the weekend, with witnesses describing officers beating them with sticks and shields before shooting tear gas canisters directly into the crowds. In 2016, police were accused of killing 16-year-old supporter Muhammad Fahreza at a game between Persija and Persela Lamongan, resulting in mass demonstrations demanding an end to police brutality.

“The police who were in charge of security violated FIFA stadium safety and security regulations,” soccer analyst Akmal Marhali told Indonesian media on Sunday, referring to the use of tear gas on Malang fans who entered the pitch after their team’s defeat. That sparked a rush for exits in an overcrowded stadium.

“The Indonesia Football Association may have been negligent for not informing the police that security procedures at a football match are not the same as those at a demonstration.”

FIFA, soccer’s world governing body, prohibits the use of tear gas by on-field security or police at stadiums.

Usman Hamid, executive director of Amnesty International Indonesia, said police who violated regulations should be tried in open court.

“This loss of life cannot go unanswered. The police themselves have stated that the deaths occurred after police use of tear gas on the crowd resulted in a stampede at the stadium exits,” Hamid said in a statement. “Tear gas should also never be fired in confined spaces.”

The soccer association, known locally as PSSI, has long struggled to manage the game domestically.

In 2007, Nurdin Halid was imprisoned on corruption charges but was able to continue as the organization’s president until 2011. After Halid was banned from running for another term, a rival league, federation and national team emerged.

But chaotic administration continued until FIFA suspended Indonesia in 2015, a sanction that was lifted the following year.

In 2019, when FIFA awarded Indonesia hosting rights for the Under-20 World Cup, it was seen as a vote of confidence.

In June, a FIFA panel inspected the country’s soccer facilities and planning for the May 20-June 11 tournament and proclaimed its satisfaction.

“We are very pleased to see the preparations in Indonesia,” Roberto Grassi, Head of Youth Tournaments for FIFA said. “A lot of refurbishment work has been done already. We have had an encouraging visit and are confident of support from all stakeholders involved.”

Kanjuruhan Stadium, the site of the disaster on Saturday, is not among the six venues listed for the Under-20 World Cup, although nearby Surabaya Stadium is scheduled to host games.

FIFA has not yet commented on any potential impact on the Under-20 World Cup but the weekend tragedy is likely to damage Indonesia’s bid to host the 2023 Asian Cup. It is vying with South Korea and Qatar to become host of the continental championship after China relinquished its staging rights in May.

Indonesia has already co-hosted the tournament, sharing the event in 2007 with Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam and hosting the final in Jakarta, where Iraq beat Saudi Arabia for the title.

That was the last time Indonesia staged a major international soccer tournament. The Asian Football Confederation is expected to announce its decision on the 2023 tournament on Oct. 17.

There is unlikely to be any soccer played before then as people in Indonesia, and football followers around the globe, come to terms with one of the deadliest disasters ever at a sporting event.

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Duerden covers soccer in Asia for The Associated Press.

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More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

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October 2, 2022
Soccer world reacts to disaster at Indonesia stadium

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MADRID — A minute of silence was observed before soccer matches around the world on Sunday in honor of victims of the disaster at a stadium in Indonesia that claimed at least 125 lives, and top players, coaches and leagues sent condolences and messages of support.

Most of the victims were trampled upon or suffocated as chaos erupted following a game between host Arema FC of East Java’s Malang city and Persebaya Surabaya on Saturday night. Witnesses described police officers beating fans with sticks and shields before shooting tear gas canisters directly into the crowds to stop violence but instead triggering a deadly crush.

Indonesia’s soccer association suspended the top-tier Liga 1 indefinitely and banned Arema from hosting soccer matches for the remainder of the season, after one of the biggest tragedies globally at a sporting event.

Soccer leagues observing a minute of silence in honor of victims included Spain, Israel and the Netherlands.

In England, Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola talked about the disaster following the Manchester derby in England.

“Terrible. Absolutely terrible. The world is crazy,” he said. “The best thoughts for the family and everything.”

Manchester United coach Ten Hag said it was “really a disaster … We are sad about it and our thoughts are with all the persons and the families and people of Indonesia.”

Some fans reacted to the news before kickoff in Manchester.

“We’ve been going to games for 50-odd years,” said Ray Booth, a Man City fan. “We don’t think about these things, but it could quite easily happen. You have a panic with thousands of people all together. It could happen. It is frightening to think about.”

Both Manchester clubs said they were “deeply saddened” by the tragedy in Indonesia.

“We send our sincere condolences to the victims, their families, and everyone affected,” Man United said.

In Spain, Real Madrid president Florentino Perez called for a minute of silence during the club’s general assembly.

Barcelona said it was “pained by the tragic events” and rejected “all acts of violence both on and off the field.” Ajax said “there should never be violence at a football match.”

Among the players who reacted was veteran PSG defender Sergio Ramos, who called the tragedy “heartbreaking.”

“Our thoughts are with the victims and their families,” he said on Twitter.

Soccer leagues also expressed their sadness, including the Premier League, the Italian league and the Spanish league.

In a statement, FIFA President Gianni Infantino offered condolences on behalf of the global soccer community, saying “the football world is in a state of shock.”

FIFA did not mention in its statement the under-20 World Cup that Indonesia is set to host next year.

UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin spoke on behalf of European soccer.

“I would like to express our profound shock and sadness at last night’s appalling events in East Java’s Kanjuruhan stadium,” he said. “Our community sends its sympathy and solidarity to everyone affected by this tragedy.”

The president of the Asian soccer confederation, Shaikh Salman, said he was “deeply shocked and saddened to hear such tragic news coming out of football-loving Indonesia.”

The Spanish soccer federation lamented the tragedy and said it “condemns any act of violence, especially those in a festive setting such as a football match.

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AP Sports Writer James Robson in Manchester, England, contributed to this report.

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More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

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Tales Azzoni on Twitter: http://twitter.com/tazzoni

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October 2, 2022
EXPLAINER: What’s behind Indonesia’s deadly soccer match?

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JAKARTA, Indonesia — Violence, tear gas and a deadly crush that erupted following a domestic league soccer match Saturday night marked another tragedy in Indonesian . Here’s a look at how the chaos occurred and what is being done to prevent future incidents:

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HOW DID THE CHAOS OCCUR?

Chaos broke out after Persebaya Surabaya defeated Arema Malang 3-2 in Saturday night’s match in East Java’s province Malang city. Police said there were some 42,000 spectators in the stadium, all of whom were Arema’s supporters because the organizer had banned Persebaya fans in an effort to avoid brawls.

But a disappointing loss by Arema — the first match lost to Persebaya at its home stadium — prompted angry spectators to pour into the field after the match to demand answers. Fans threw bottles and other objects at players and soccer officials and violence spread outside the stadium, where at least five police cars were toppled and set ablaze and others damaged. Riot police responded with tear gas, which is banned at soccer stadiums by FIFA. But it sparked panic.

Hundreds of spectators rushed to an exit gate to avoid the tear gas, resulting in a crush that trampled or suffocated 34 to death almost instantly, with many more deaths to follow due to injuries.

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HOW MANY PEOPLE DIED?

In one of the worst sports disasters, police said at least 125 people died, including children and two police officers, most of whom were trampled.

More than 100 people were injured. Police said the death toll is likely to rise more with multiple people in critical condition.

Data from an Indonesian watchdog organization, Save Our Soccer, said that at least 86 soccer fans had died since 1995, most of them in fights.

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WHY DOES SOCCER BEGET VIOLENCE?

Football is the most popular sport in Indonesia and the domestic league is widely followed. Fans are strongly attached to their clubs, and such fanaticism often ends in violence and hooliganism. But it usually happens outside the stadium.

The most well-known feud is between Persija Jakarta and Persib Bandung. Supporters of the two clubs have clashed in several matches that led to deaths. In 2018, a Persija Jakarta supporter was beaten to death by Persib Bandung rivals.

Indonesian football has also been beset with trouble on the international stage. Brawls broke out between supporters of archrivals Indonesia and Malaysia in 2019 during qualifiers for this year’s FIFA World Cup. In September 2019, Malaysian fans were threatened and pelted with projectiles at a World Cup qualifier in Jakarta, and Malaysia’s visiting sports minister had to be evacuated from the stadium after violence broke out. Two months later, fans hurled flares and bottles at each other in another match in Kuala Lumpur.

Also in 2019, after losing in the finals of the U-22 match to Vietnam in the Southeast Asian Games, Indonesian fans took to social media to insult, harass, and send death threats to Vietnamese players and even their families.

In June, two Persib Bandung fans died while jostling to enter the stadium in Bandung to watch the 2022 President’s Cup. The angry supporters became aggressive because the officers on the field did not allow them to enter the already-full stadium.

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WHAT IS THE GOVERNMENT DOING ABOUT IT?

Indonesian President Joko Widodo has expressed his deepest regret and ordered a thorough investigation into the deaths. He has also ordered the premier soccer league suspended until a safety reevaluation is carried out and tighter security put in place. Widodo said he hoped “this tragedy will be the last tragedy of football in Indonesia.”

Indonesia’s soccer association has also banned Arema from hosting soccer matches for the remainder of the season. Rights group Amnesty International urged Indonesia to investigate the use of tear gas at the stadium and ensure that those found in violations are tried in open court.

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October 2, 2022
127 soccer fans, police, killed at Indonesia’s soccer match

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MALANG, Indonesia — Clashes between supporters of two Indonesian soccer teams in East Java province killed 125 fans and 2 police officers, mostly trampled to death, police said Sunday.

Several brawls between supporters of the two rival soccer teams were reported inside the stadium after the Indonesian Premier League game ended with Persebaya Surabaya beating Arema Malang 3-2.

The fights prompted riot police to fire tear gas, which caused panic among supporters, said East Java Police Chief Nico Afinta.

Hundreds of people ran to an exit gate in an effort to avoid the tear gas. Some suffocated in the chaos and others were trampled, killing 34 almost instantly.

More than 300 were rushed to nearby hospitals to treat injuries but many died on the way and during a treatment, Afinta said.

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October 1, 2022