What’s behind Indonesia’s deadly soccer match?

Jakarta, Indonesia –

The violence and a deadly stampede that broke out after a national league soccer match on Saturday night marked another tragedy in Indonesian soccer. Here’s a look at how the chaos happened and what’s being done to prevent future incidents.

HOW DID THE CHAOS HAPPEN?

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

But a disappointing loss to Arema, the first match lost to rival Persebaya at their home stadium, prompted angry spectators to take to the pitch after the match to demand answers. Fans hurled bottles and other objects at soccer players and officials and the riot spread outside the stadium, where at least five police cars were toppled and set on fire and others damaged. Riot police responded with tear gas, which is banned in soccer stadiums by FIFA. But it created panic.

Hundreds of spectators ran to an exit door to avoid tear gas, resulting in a stampede that trampled or suffocated 34 to death almost instantly, with many more dying from injuries.

HOW MANY PEOPLE DIED?

In what appeared to be one of the worst sports disasters, police said at least 174 people were killed, 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 further with several people in critical condition.

Data from an Indonesian soccer watchdog organization, Save Our Soccer, indicated that at least 86 Indonesian soccer supporters have died since 1995 related to supporting their club during the match. Most of them died because of fights between fans.

The riots and stampede on Saturday will add to the long list of events in which fans have died supporting their football club.

WHY DOES FOOTBALL BREED VIOLENCE?

Football is the most popular sport in Indonesia and the national league is very well followed. Fans are strongly attached to their clubs and that fanaticism often ends in violence and hooliganism. But fan riots often occur outside the stadium.

The best known feud is between Persija Jakarta and Persib Bandung. Supporters of the two clubs have faced each other in several games with a death toll. In 2018, Persib Bandung’s rivals beat a Persija Jakarta supporter to death.

Indonesian football has also been plagued with problems on the international stage. Fights broke out between supporters of arch-rivals Indonesia and Malaysia in 2019 during this year’s FIFA World Cup qualifiers. In September of that year, Malaysian fans were threatened and thrown with projectiles at a World Cup qualifier in Jakarta, and the Malaysian sports minister had to be evacuated from the stadium after violence broke out. Two months later, fans threw sparklers and bottles at another match in Kuala Lumpur.

Also in 2019, after losing in the U-22 final match to Vietnam at 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 were killed while pushing each other to enter the stadium in Bandung to watch the 2022 President’s Cup. Angry fans turned aggressive because officials on the field would not allow them to enter the already full stadium.

WHAT IS THE GOVERNMENT DOING ABOUT IT?

Indonesian President Joko Widodo expressed his deepest regret and ordered a thorough investigation of the case. He also ordered that the first soccer league be suspended until a reassessment of the security of the matches is carried out and stricter security measures are put in place. Widodo said he hoped “this tragedy will be the last football tragedy in Indonesia.”

The Indonesian football association has also banned Arema from hosting football matches for the rest of the season. The human rights group Amnesty International has urged Indonesia to investigate the use of tear gas in the stadium and ensure that those who commit violations are tried in open court.

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