125 dead as tear gas triggers crash at football match in Indonesia

MALANG, Indonesia Panic and a chaotic race for exits after police fired tear gas at an Indonesian soccer match to chase away fans upset over the loss of their team that left at least 125 people dead, most of them were trampled or smothered, making it one of the deadliest sporting events in the world.

Attention immediately turned to the use of tear gas by the police, and witnesses described police beating them with sticks and shields before firing canisters directly into the crowd.

The FIFA president called the deaths at the stadium “a black day for everyone involved in football and an incomprehensible tragedy”, while President Joko Widodo ordered an investigation into security procedures. Although FIFA has no control over domestic matches, it has advised against the use of tear gas in football stadiums.

The violence erupted after the game ended on Saturday night with host Arema FC of Malang city in East Java losing to Persebaya of Surabaya 3-2.

Disappointed by their team’s defeat, thousands of supporters of Arema, known as “Aremania”, reacted by throwing bottles and other objects at players and football officials. Witnesses said fans flooded the pitch at Kanjuruhan Stadium and demanded that Arema management explain why after 23 years of unbeaten home games against Persebaya, this one ended in defeat.

The violence spilled outside the stadium where at least five police vehicles were overturned and set on fire. The riot police responded by firing tear gas, particularly in the direction of the stands of the stadium, causing panic in the crowd.

“The stadium turned into a smoke-filled battlefield as the police fired tear gas,” said Rizky, who came with his cousin to watch the game.

“I felt hot and tingling in my eyes, couldn’t see clearly as my head was dizzy and everything went black…I passed out,” he said. When he woke up, he was already in the emergency room. He said his cousin died of head injuries.

“We wanted to entertain ourselves by watching a football match, but we had a disaster,” he said.

Another onlooker, Ahmad Fatoni, said police started beating fans with sticks and shields, and they fought back.

“Officers fired tear gas directly at spectators in the stands, forcing us to run for the exit,” he said. “Many victims fell due to shortness of breath and difficulty seeing from tear gas and were trampled on.”

He said he climbed onto the roof of the bleachers and only came down when the situation calmed down.

Others suffocated and were stomped on as hundreds of people ran for the exit to avoid tear gas. In the chaos, 34 people died at the stadium, including two officers, and some reports include children among the victims.

“Some were stepped on, some fell and some were hit,” Rian Dwi Cahyono said from hospital, where he was being treated for an arm injury. Asked what triggered the panic, he replied: “Tear gas”.

National Police Chief Listyo Sigit Prabowo said the death toll had been revised to 125 from 174, after authorities discovered some of the victims had been double counted. More than 100 people were receiving intensive care in eight hospitals, 11 of them in critical condition.

East Java Police Chief Nico Afinta has defended the use of tear gas.

“We have already taken preventive action before finally firing tear gas as (fans) started attacking the police, acting haphazardly and setting vehicles on fire,” he told a press conference. press early Sunday.

Indonesia’s football association, known as PSSI, has suspended the premier football league Liga 1 indefinitely in light of the tragedy and banned Arema from hosting football matches for the remainder of the season.

Grieving relatives were awaiting information about their loved ones at Saiful Anwar General Hospital in Malang. Others attempted to identify the bodies deposited at the morgue while medical personnel affixed an identification tag to the bodies of the victims.

“I deeply regret this tragedy and hope this is 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 uphold the sportsmanship, humanity and sense of brotherhood of the Indonesian nation.”

He ordered the sports minister, the national police chief and the president of the PSSI to carry out a thorough assessment of the country’s football and its security procedure.

Youth and Sports Minister Zainudin Amali regretted that “this tragedy happened while we were preparing for football activities, both nationally and internationally”.

Indonesia is set to host the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup from May 20 to June 11, with 24 teams taking part. As hosts, the country automatically qualifies for the cup.

“Unfortunately, this incident has certainly damaged our football image,” Amali said.

In a statement, FIFA President Gianni Infantino expressed his condolences on behalf of the global football community, saying “the world of football is in shock”. The statement does not mention the use of tear gas.

At the Vatican, Pope Francis said he was praying for “all those who lost their lives and were injured in the clashes that broke out after a football match in Malang, Indonesia.”

Ferli Hidayat, local police chief in Malang, said there were some 42,000 spectators at the match on Saturday, all Arema supporters because the organizer had banned Persebaya supporters from entering the stadium in order to avoid fights.

The restriction was imposed after clashes between fans of the two rival teams at East Java’s Blitar Stadium in February 2020 caused 250 million rupees ($18,000) in damage. Fights were reported outside the stadium during and after the East Java Governor’s Cup semi-finals, which ended with Persebaya beating Arema 4-2.

Rights groups reacted to the tragedy by blaming the use of tear gas in the stadium by the police.

Citing FIFA’s stadium security guidelines against the use of ‘crowd control gas’ by pitchside stewards or police, Amnesty International called on the Indonesian authorities to carry out a prompt, thorough and independent investigation into the use of tear gas at Kanjuruhan Stadium.

“Those found guilty of committing violations are tried in open court and do not simply receive internal or administrative sanctions,” said Usman Hamid, Executive Director of Amnesty International Indonesia.

He said tear gas should only be used to disperse crowds when widespread violence has occurred and when other methods have failed. People should be warned that tear gas will be used and allowed to disperse. “No one should lose their life in a football game,” Hamid said.

Hundreds of football fans, mostly wearing black shirts, held a candlelight vigil on Sunday evening at Gelora Bung Karno, Indonesia’s biggest stadium in the capital, Jakarta, for the victims of the disaster. They sang songs they composed to lift the spirits of the grieving Aremanias.

Despite Indonesia’s lack of international accolades in sport, hooliganism is rampant in the football-obsessed country where fanaticism often ends in violence, such as the 2018 death of a Persija Jakarta fan who was killed by a mob of die-hard fans of rival club Persib Bandung. in 2018.

Data from Indonesian football watchdog Save Our Soccer showed that 78 people have died in football-related incidents over the past 28 years.

Saturday’s game is already among the worst crowd disasters in the world, including the 1996 World Cup qualifier between Guatemala and Costa Rica in Guatemala City, where more than 80 people died and more than 100 others were injured. In April 2001, more than 40 people were crushed to death during a football match at Ellis Park in Johannesburg, South Africa.

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Karmini reported from Jakarta, Indonesia. Associated Press reporters Edna Tarigan and Andi Jatmiko in Jakarta contributed to this report.