Image source: Outlook India
On Saturday night, what should have been a night of festivities in an Indonesian domestic league soccer game turned into pure chaos.
A derby match between Persebaya Surabaya and Arema FC led to violence, tear gas, and death.
What happened?
Persebaya Surabaya visited Arema’s home stadium on Saturday for the derby.
Organizers banned fans of the visitors to avoid brawls, filling the entire stadium with Arema supporters – 42,000 of them.
The match ended with the home side losing 2-3, angering spectators who poured into the field.
The situation escalated, and fans threw objects at players and officials, demanding answers.
Violence grew, and five police cars were toppled, set ablaze, and damaged.
Riot police responded to the situation with tear gas, which FIFA banned at soccer stadiums.
The action only ushered in panic, and hundreds of spectators rushed to the nearest exit gate to avoid the tear gas.
The situation led to a stampede, trampling or suffocating 34 people to death almost instantly.
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More deaths
The stampede was only responsible for a small portion of the deaths from the match.
According to police, at least 174 people were killed, including children and two police officers, with 180 more wounded.
They also said that the death toll will most likely rise with multiple people in critical condition.
Save Our Soccer, an Indonesian football watchdog organization, produced data that said at least 86 soccer fans have died since 1995, most of which happened in fights.
Soccer brawls in Indonesia
Soccer is the most popular sport in Indonesia, and fans have a strong sense of loyalty for their clubs.
Sometimes the fanaticism leads to violence and hooliganism often outside the stadium.
One of the most popular clashes is between Persija Jakarta and Persib Bandung.
Fans of the clubs have clashed in several matches over the years, sometimes ending in deaths.
In 2018, Persib Bandung fans beat a Persija Jakarta supporter to death.
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On an international stage, the aggression is just as strong.
In the 2019 qualifiers for the upcoming FIFA World Cup, brawls broke out between supporters of archrivals Indonesia and Malaysia.
In September 2019, Malaysian fans were threatened and thrown projectiles at a match in Jakarta.
Malaysia’s visiting sports minister had to be evacuated from the stadium after violence ensued.
In November 2019, fans threw flares and bottles at each other in another match in Kuala Lumpur.
In another game that year, after losing in the finals of the U-22 Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam, Indonesian fans started insulting, harassing, and sending death threats to Vietnamese players and their families.
In June 2022, two Persib Bandung fans died trying to get into the stadium to watch the President’s Cup.
Supporters who were already upset became more aggressive when officers on the field wouldn’t allow them to enter the already-full stadium.
Government reaction
Following the events, Indonesian President Joko Widodo expressed his deepest regrets, ordering an investigation around the deaths.
Widodo also ordered the soccer league to be suspended until they carry out a safety reevaluation and tighten security.
The President shared hopes that the tragedy would be the last tragedy of soccer in the country.
Meanwhile, Indonesia’s soccer association banned Arema from hosting soccer matches for the rest of the season.
Rights group Amnesty International urged the country to investigate the use of tear gas at the stadium and ensure that those who violated the rule are tried in open court.
References:
What happened at Indonesia’s deadly soccer match?
Indonesia football tragedy: at least 174 killed derby match between Arema FC and Persebaya Surabaya
