Violence erupted at a stadium in East Java during a match between Arema and Persebaya Surabaya. Image: Photo: AP Chaos broke out after Persebaya Surabaya won 3-2 – and according to local reports, thousands of Arema fans took to the pitch after their team lost. It is also claimed that several Arema players who were still on the pitch at the time were attacked. Image: Photo: AP In one of the world’s worst stadium disasters, more than 300 people were rushed to nearby hospitals, but many died en route or in treatment. East Java police chief Niko Afinda said about 180 people were injured, but many of them were in a worsening condition. A riot is believed to have started when police fired tear gas into the crowd. Image: Photo: AP A local health official said many of the victims died from “chaos, overcrowding, trampling and suffocation”. Two of the dead at Kanjuruhan Stadium in Malang are reported to be policemen. FIFA regulations state that police must not carry or use firearms or “crowd control gas”. Image: Photo: AP Indonesia’s chief security minister, Mahfud MD, said on social media that the stadium was packed beyond capacity. While the sports venue is supposed to hold only 38,000 people, he claimed that 42,000 tickets had been issued. The Indonesian football league has now been suspended for a week, with Arema banned from organizing matches for the rest of the season. Further sanctions could follow. Image: Photo: AP There have been previous outbreaks of trouble at matches in Indonesia, with a strong rivalry between clubs sometimes sparking violence between fans. The president of the country’s football federation, Mochamad Iriawan, apologized to the families of the victims. He added that the incident “really tarnishes the face of Indonesian football”. Over a dozen vehicles were torched inside the stadium and many of them were police cars.
