Indonesian soccer match: At least 174 dead after fans rush to leave

Malang, Indonesia — At least 174 people have died in a panic and frenzy for an exit after police fired tear gas to disperse rioting fans at a football match in Indonesia.

The use of tear gas in football stadiums is prohibited by FIFA. The president of the World Football Association called the stadium fatalities “a dark day for all involved with football and a tragedy beyond comprehension”, and President Joko Widodo ordered an investigation into security procedures.

On Saturday night, riots erupted after East Java’s Malang city hosts Arema FC lost 3-2 to Surabaya’s Persebaya.

Disappointed by their team’s defeat, thousands of Arema supporters, known as ‘Alemania’, threw bottles and other objects at the players and football officials. Hurried, demanding Arema management explain why the match ended in defeat after a 23-year unbeaten home match against rivals Persebaya.

The violence spread outside the stadium, with at least five police cars knocked over and set ablaze. Riot police responded by firing tear gas at the stadium’s stands, causing panic among the crowd.

Hundreds of people rushed to the exits to avoid the tear gas, some choked to death, others trampled. In the chaos, 34 of his people, including two police officers, died at the stadium, and there are also reports that children are among the victims.

East Java Police Chief Niko Afinta said at a press conference on Sunday, “(The fans) acted in a disorderly manner, started burning cars and attacking police, so before finally firing tear gas, we had to take precautionary measures.” We have taken action,” he said.

More than 300 people were taken to hospital, many of whom died en route or during treatment, Afinta said.

Deputy Governor Emir Dardak of East Java Province told Compass TV that the death toll had risen to 174 and more than 100 injured were in intensive care at eight hospitals, 11 of them in critical condition. Told.

The Indonesian football association, known as the PSSI, has indefinitely suspended the Premier League’s Liga 1 in light of the tragedy, banning Arema from holding any football matches for the remainder of the season.

Television reports said police and rescue workers evacuated the injured and carried the dead to an ambulance.

At Saiful Anwar General Hospital in Malang, a grieving family awaited information about their loved ones. Some attempted to identify the bodies placed in the morgue while medical workers attached identification tags to the bodies of the victims.

In a televised address, Widodo said: “I deeply regret this tragedy. I hope this is the last football tragedy in this country. I will ensure that such human tragedies do not happen in the future.” “We must continue to maintain sportsmanship, humanity and the brotherhood of the Indonesian people.”

He has ordered the Youth and Sports Minister, the National Police Commissioner and the PSSI Chairman to conduct a thorough assessment of the country’s football and its safety procedures.

Youth and Sports Minister Zainuddin Amari also expressed regret, saying, “This tragedy happened while we were preparing for football match activities at national and international level.”

Indonesia will host the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup from May 20th to June 11th, with 24 teams participating. As host country, the country automatically qualifies for the Cup.

“Unfortunately, this incident has certainly damaged the image of our football,” said Amari.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino said in a statement that “the world of football is in shock” and expressed his condolences on behalf of the world football community. The statement did not mention the use of tear gas.

Malang’s local police chief, Feri Hidayat, said there were about 42,000 spectators at Saturday’s game, but they were all at Alema after organizers banned Persebaya fans from entering the stadium to avoid a brawl. said he was a supporter of

The limit was imposed after supporters of two rival teams clashed at East Java’s Blitar Stadium in February 2020, causing damage of IDR 250 million ($18,000). Brawls were reported outside the stadium during and after the East Java Governor’s Cup semi-finals, which ended with Persebaya beating Arema to his 4–2 victory.

Human rights groups have responded to the tragedy by condemning the police’s use of tear gas at the stadium.

Citing FIFA’s stadium safety guidelines, which prohibit the carrying or use of “crowd control gas” by pitchside stewards and police, Amnesty International called on the Indonesian authorities to swiftly and forcefully rectify the use of tear gas at the Kanjurhan Stadium. It called for a thorough and independent investigation.

Usman Hamid, Executive Director of Amnesty International Indonesia, said: “Anyone found to have committed an offense will not only be tried in open courts and subject to internal or administrative sanctions.

He said tear gas should only be used to disperse crowds when widespread violence has occurred and other methods have failed. You should be warned of being sprayed. “Nobody should die in a football match,” Hamid said.

Despite the lack of international acclaim in the Indonesian sport, football where fanaticism often ends in violence, such as the death of a Persija Jakarta supporter who was murdered by a mob of hardcore fans of rival club Persib Bandung in 2018. Hooliganism is rampant in a country obsessed with 2018.

Saturday’s match was already one of the worst crowd disasters in the world, including the 1996 World Cup qualifiers between Guatemala and Costa Rica in Guatemala City, with more than 80 dead and more than 100 injured. Injured. In April 2001, more than 40 people were crushed to death during a football match at Ellis Park in Johannesburg, South Africa.