Saturday night’s tragedy in the eastern city of Malang was one of the world’s deadliest sports stadium disasters. Police in East Java province said thousands of Arema FC fans stormed the pitch at Kanjuruhan Stadium after their team lost 3-2 to Persebaya Surabaya. Police tried to control the “riots” by firing tear gas, causing chaos as panicked fans rushed to an exit gate. Some drowned in the chaos while others were trampled to death. At least 34 people, including two policemen, died at the stadium. East Java Vice Governor Emil Dardak said in an interview with Kompas TV on Sunday afternoon that the death toll has risen to 174, while more than 100 wounded are receiving intensive treatment in eight hospitals. Eleven of them were in critical condition, he said. “At 9:30 A.M. (0230 GMT) the death toll was 158, at 10:30 the number rose to 174 deaths,” Dardak said. A hospital director told local television that one of the victims was five years old. Videos from local news channels showed fans running onto the pitch at the Kanjurujan Stadium in Malang after Arema FC lost to Persebaya Surabaya. There are clashes, with tear gas in the air. Images also showed people who appeared to be unconscious being dragged away by other fans. The stadium holds 42,000 people and officials said it was a sell-out. Police said about 3,000 people invaded the stadium. Vehicles outside the stadium were also burnt, including at least five police cars and trucks. At least 174 people have been killed and dozens injured in one of the world’s deadliest stadium disasters after rioting and rioting at a soccer match in Indonesia ⤵️ 🔗: pic.twitter.com/E5ae2vl5vD — Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) October 2, 2022 Survivors described panicked onlookers in a packed crowd as tear gas was rained down on them. “The officers threw tear gas and automatically people rushed out, pushing each other and this caused many casualties,” a 43-year-old onlooker told AFP news agency. “Nothing was happening, there was no commotion. I don’t know what the issue was, suddenly they threw tear gas. That shocked me, weren’t they thinking about children, women?’
Championship suspension
President Joko Widodo ordered an investigation into the tragedy, a security check at all football matches and instructed the country’s football association to suspend all matches until “security improvements” were completed. “I am deeply sorry for this tragedy and I hope this football tragedy will be the last in our country,” Widodo said. Fan violence is an ongoing problem in Indonesia, with a strong rivalry between clubs sometimes leading to fan violence. Arema FC and Persebaya Surabaya are long-time rivals and fans of the latter were not allowed to buy tickets for Saturday’s match due to fears of violence. Indonesia’s coordinating political, legal and security minister, Mahfud MD, said the organizers ignored the authorities’ recommendation to hold the match in the afternoon instead of the evening. He also said that the government had proposed to print only 38,000 tickets, but instead there was a sell-out crowd of 42,000. “The government has made improvements in the implementation of football matches … and will continue to improve. But this sport, which is beloved by the wider community, often causes supporters to express sudden emotions,” he said in an Instagram post. A group of people carry a man after a riot at a soccer match between Arema FC and Persebaya Surabaya at Kanjuruhan Stadium in Malang, East Java, October 1, 2022 [AFP] World soccer’s governing body FIFA specifies in its security regulations that no firearms or “crowd control gas” may be carried or used by referees or police. East Java police did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether they were aware of such regulations. Referring to FIFA’s rules, Amnesty International criticized the use of tear gas on the pitch and urged the authorities to “conduct a swift, thorough and independent investigation” and “ensure that those found to have committed violations are tried in open justice and are not simply internal or administrative sanctions”. “This loss of life cannot go unanswered,” said Usman Hamid, Amnesty International Indonesia’s executive director. The Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) has announced that it will send its own investigative team to Malang to determine the cause of the crash. He also banned Arema FC from hosting home matches for the rest of the season. “We regret and apologize to the families of the victims and all parties involved in the incident,” PSSI president Mohammad Iriawan said. The tragedy comes as Indonesia is scheduled to host the FIFA U-20 World Cup in May and June next year. It is also one of three countries bidding to host next year’s Asian Cup, the continent’s equivalent of the Euros, after China pulled out as host. Al Jazeera’s Jessica Washington, reporting from the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, said Saturday’s disaster was “historic”. “Violence and riots are common at football matches in Indonesia, but we have never seen anything like this before,” he said. “This is a historic tragedy, not only for football in Indonesia but also for international football. This is one of the biggest tragedies the sport has seen, in terms of fan violence, in terms of fan deaths at a match,” he added. Other stadium disasters include a 1964 Peru-Argentina Olympic qualifier crash at Lima’s National Stadium that killed around 320 people and the 2012 Port Said stadium tragedy in Egypt, where 74 people died in clashes. In 1989, around 96 Liverpool fans were crushed to death in the UK when an overcrowded and cordoned off venue collapsed at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield. This picture shows a burnt car outside the Kanjuruhan Stadium in Malang on October 2, 2022 [Putri/ AFP]
