Malang, Indonesia – Panic and chaos on the exit after police fired tear gas at an Indonesian soccer match to drive away fans for a riot that left at least 174 people dead, most of them run over or suffocated, making it one of the world’s deadliest sporting events.
Attention immediately focused on police use of tear gas, which is banned by FIFA, in football stadiums. The FIFA president described the deaths in the stadium as a “dark day for all those involved in football and a tragedy beyond comprehension”, while President Joko Widodo ordered an investigation into security measures.
Riots erupted after the match ended on Saturday night, as hosts Arima of Malang, East Java, lost to Persibaya of Surabaya 3-2.
Frustrated by their team’s loss, thousands of Arima supporters, known as “Arimaania”, responded by throwing bottles and other objects at players and football officials. Witnesses said fans flooded the Kanjuruhan Stadium and demanded that Arima’s management explain why this match ended in a loss after 23 years of unbeaten home matches against Persiebaya.
Violence spread outside the stadium, with at least five police cars toppled and set on fire. Riot police responded by firing tear gas, including towards the stadium stands, causing panic among the fans.
Some were killed and others suffocated by being run over, while hundreds of people ran to the exit to avoid the tear gas. Amid the chaos, 34 people were killed in the stadium, including two officers, and some reports included injuries to children.
“We have already taken a precautionary measure before finally firing tear gas as (the fans) started attacking the police and they acted in a chaotic manner and burned vehicles,” East Java Police Chief Nico Aventa told a news conference early Sunday morning.
Aventa said more than 300 people were taken to hospitals, but many more died on the way and during treatment.
Emil Dardak, deputy governor of East Java, told Kompas TV that the death toll had risen to 174, while more than 100 wounded were receiving intensive treatment in eight hospitals, 11 of them in critical condition.
The Indonesian Football Association, better known as PSSI, has suspended the premier league soccer league Liga 1 indefinitely in light of the tragedy and has banned Arima from hosting soccer matches for the remainder of the season.
Television reports showed police and rescue workers evacuating the wounded and transporting the dead to ambulances.
Grieved relatives waited for information about their loved ones at Saif Anwar General Hospital in Malang. Others tried to identify the bodies that were placed in the mortuary while medical workers placed identification tags on the bodies of the victims.
“I am deeply sorry for this tragedy and I hope this will be the last football tragedy in this country, don’t let another human tragedy like this happen in the future,” Widodo said in a televised address. “We must continue to maintain sportsmanship, humanity and a sense of brotherhood for the Indonesian nation.”
The Minister of Youth and Sports, the National Police Chief and PSSI President ordered a comprehensive assessment of the country’s football and its security measures.
The Minister of Youth and Sports Zinedine Amali also expressed his regret that “this tragedy occurred when we were preparing for the activities of the football game at the national and international levels.”
Indonesia will host the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup from May 20 to June 11, with 24 teams participating. As the host country, the country automatically qualifies for the cup.
“Unfortunately, this incident definitely damaged our football image,” Amalie said.
In a statement, FIFA President Gianni Infantino expressed his condolences on behalf of the global football community, saying: “The football world is in shock.” The statement did not mention the use of tear gas.
There were around 42,000 spectators at the match on Saturday, all of them Arima supporters, as the organizer banned Persibaya fans from entering the stadium in an attempt to avoid scuffles, Ferli Hidayat, the local police chief in Malang said.
The restrictions were imposed after clashes between supporters of the two rival teams at the Blitar Stadium in East Java in February 2020 caused losses of 250 million rupiah ($18,000). Brawls were reported outside the stadium during and after the semi-finals of the East Java Governor’s Cup, which ended with Persibaya’s 4-2 victory over Arima.
Rights groups responded to the tragedy by blaming the use of tear gas in the stadium by police.
Citing FIFA’s stadium safety guidelines prohibiting the carrying or use of “crowd control gas” by stadium hosts or police, Amnesty International has called on the Indonesian authorities to conduct a prompt, thorough and independent investigation into the use of tear gas at Kanjuruhan Stadium.
“Those found to have committed abuses are tried in open court and not merely internally or administratively sanctioned,” said Osman Hamid, Amnesty International Indonesia’s executive director.
He said tear gas should only be used to disperse crowds when widespread violence occurs and other methods have failed. People should be warned not to use tear gas and allowed to disperse. “No one should lose their life in a football match,” Hamid said.
Despite Indonesia’s lack of international trophies in the sport, riots are rife in the football-obsessed country where bigotry often ends in violence, as happened in 2018 with the death of a Persija Jakarta fan at the hands of a mob of hardcore fans of rival club Persib Bandung. in 2018.
Saturday’s match is already among the world’s worst mass disasters, including the 1996 World Cup qualifiers between Guatemala and Costa Rica in Guatemala City where more than 80 people died and more than 100 were injured. In April 2001, more than 40 people were killed during a football match at Ellis Park in Johannesburg, South Africa.
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