At least 125 people were killed, the majority of whom were crushed underfoot or smothered, after police fired tear gas into the crowd following an Indonesian soccer match in an effort to quell the unrest.
The crowd-control tactics deployed by the police during Saturday night’s game between Persebaya Surabaya and the host Arema FC of Malang, East Java, attracted rapid attention. Witnesses reported seeing police hitting people with rods and shields before they were shot with tear gas canisters.
It was one of the bloodiest accidents at a sports event ever. The murders were described as “a tragic day for those engaged in football and a sorrow beyond understanding” by FIFA President Sepp Blatter. President Joko Widodo demanded a probe into security protocols. While FIFA has no authority over domestic games, it has warned against the deployment of tear gas at soccer grounds.
Due to the frequent fights between opposing Indonesian soccer fans, Persebaya supporters were prohibited from entering Arema’s stadium. Violence nonetheless erupted after the home team lost 3-2, when some of the 42,000 Arema supporters, or “Aremania,” hurled bottles and other items at the soccer players and referees.
According to eyewitnesses, Arema supporters flocked to the field at Kanjuruhan Stadium and reportedly sought an explanation from the club’s administration as to why this home match versus Persebaya ended in a loss after 23 years of victories.
Outside the stadium, at least five police cars were overturned and set burning. Tear gas was fired by riot police in response, including at the stadium’s stands, which alarmed the audience.
Police used tear gas, turning the stadium into a smoke-filled conflict, said Rizky, who only goes by one name. He came to attend the game with his cousin.
“My eyes were hot and stinging, I was unable to see well due to head pain, and everything became black. I collapsed, “said he. He was already at the emergency department when he awoke. He claimed that a head injury caused his cousin’s death.
We intended to watch a football game as entertainment, but it ended in calamity, he said.
Ahmad Fatoni, a different spectator, said that the supporters retaliated when police began striking them with sticks and shields.
Officers shot tear gas straight at audience members, causing us to flee, the man said. Tear gas caused several victims to lose consciousness and have trouble seeing, and many were crushed as a result.
He said that he climbed the stands’ roof and descended only when everything had subsided.
As hundreds of people sprinted for the door to escape the tear gas, some choked to death and were crushed underfoot. 34 people perished in the stadium as a result of the turmoil, including two cops and children, according to some sources.
From the hospital, where he was receiving treatment for an injured arm, Rian Dwi Cahyono told Sky News that “some were trampled, others fell down, and some were struck.” When asked what set off the panic, he said, “Tear gas.”
The death toll was reduced from 174 to 125, according to Listyo Sigit Prabowo, commander of the National Police, when it was discovered that some of the fatalities were recorded more than once. In eight hospitals, more than 100 patients were getting intensive care, with 11 of them in severe condition.
Nico Afinta, the head of police for East Java, justified the deployment of tear gas.
At a press conference early on Sunday, he said, “We have already done a preventative measure before eventually launching the tear gas as (fans) started to assault the police, behaving anarchically, and burning cars.”
Due to the disaster, Indonesia’s top soccer competition Liga 1 was halted indefinitely, and Arema was prohibited from hosting matches for the balance of the campaign.
At Saiful Anwar General Hospital in Malang, grieving loved ones awaited news of their deaths. While medical professionals placed identifying tags on the victims’ corpses, others attempted to identify the dead lying in a mortuary.
In a speech that was shown on television, Widodo stated, “I profoundly regret this tragedy and I hope this is the last soccer disaster in our nation; don’t allow another human tragedy like this happen in the future.” “We must continue to uphold good sportsmanship, compassion, and a feeling of the Indonesian nation’s fraternity.”
He gave orders for a comprehensive assessment of the nation’s soccer and security procedures to be carried out by the sports minister, the national police head, and the PSSI chair.
Zainudin Amali, minister of youth and sports, said that the event “has surely damaged our soccer image.” 24 countries will compete in the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup, which will be held in Indonesia from May 20 to June 11. The nation automatically qualifies for the cup since it is the host.
The football world is in a state of shock, FIFA President Gianni Infantino said in a statement, expressing condolences on behalf of the whole football community. The use of tear gas was not mentioned in the statement.
Pope Francis expressed his concern for the “those who have lost their lives and for the injured after confrontations that occurred during a soccer game in Malang, Indonesia” at the Vatican.
The ban on Persebaya supporters accessing the stadium was put in place after fights between followers of the two competing clubs at East Java’s Blitar stadium in February 2020 resulted in damage of 250 million rupiah ($18,000). During and during the East Java Governor’s Cup semifinals, which saw Persebaya defeat Arema 4-2, fights were reported outside the stadium.
Rights organizations blamed the police deployment of tear gas inside the stadium for the tragedy.
Amnesty International called on Indonesian authorities to quickly investigate the use of tear gas and make sure that those who are found to have violated the law are tried in open court and do not merely receive internal or administrative sanctions. The organization cited FIFA’s stadium safety guidelines against the use of “crowd control gas” by pitch side stewards or police.
According to Amnesty International Indonesia’s executive director Usman Hamid, tear gas should only be used to disperse crowds when there has been severe violence and all other measures have failed. Tear gas must be deployed, and the public must be informed and given time to leave. Hamid said that “nobody should perish during a football game.”
A candlelight memorial was conducted on Sunday night for the tragedy victims at Gelora Bung Karno, Indonesia’s greatest sports stadium, in Jakarta. The majority of the soccer supporters were dressed in black shirts. They performed original music to cheer up the sad Aremanias.
Despite Indonesia’s lack of recognition in the sport on the world stage, hooliganism is rampant in the soccer-obsessed nation, where fervor often results in bloodshed, as in the case of a Persija Jakarta supporter who was slain by a mob of fervent Persib Bandung supporters in 2018.
78 individuals have died in soccer-related events over the previous 28 years, according to data from Indonesia’s soccer watchdog, Save Our Soccer.
The 1996 World Cup qualifier between Guatemala and Costa Rica in Guatemala City, when over 80 people perished and over 100 more were wounded, is considered one of the greatest crowd catastrophes in history, and Saturday’s game is already on that list. At Ellis Park in Johannesburg, South Africa, a soccer match in April 2001 results in the deaths of more than 40 spectators.