Arima FC supporters stormed the pitch late on Saturday at Kanjuruhan Stadium in the eastern city of Malang as their side lost 3-2 to Persiba Surabaya. Their first loss to their bitter rivals in more than two decades. At least 127 people killed after violence at football match in Indonesia. Police responded with tear gas, sparking a stampede, officials said Sunday.
Photos taken from inside the stadium during the stampede showed large amounts of tear gas and people climbing over fences. According to police, many of the victims were trampled to death. Police said people were killed when angry fans stormed the soccer pitch after a match at Kanjuruhan Stadium, late Saturday.
“Thirty-four people died inside the stadium and the rest died in hospital.”
Police, who described the unrest as “riots”, tried to persuade fans to return to the stands and fired tear gas after two officials were killed.
The Indonesian government apologized for the incident and promised to investigate the circumstances surrounding the stampede.
Indonesia’s Minister of Sports and Youth, Zainuddin Amali, told broadcaster Kompas that “We are sorry for this incident. It is a sad incident that has ‘hurt’ our football at a time when football matches from pro stadiums can see”.
Also See: Frede Rasmussen won F1 ESports Round 3 of Pro Championship
“We will thoroughly review the organization of the match and the attendance of supporters. Do we go back to banning supporters from attending matches? That is what we will discuss.”
Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI) suspended football matches for a week. It also banned Arima FC from hosting home games for the rest of the season. PSSI said it would send an investigative team to Malang to investigate. The cause of the crush can be ascertained.
PSSI Chairman Mochamad Irwan said, “We regret and apologize to the affected families and all parties involved in this incident.”
Fan violence is a problem in Indonesia, where deep rivalries have erupted into deadly clashes.
Some matches — the biggest being the Old Indonesia derby between Perseja Jakarta and Persib Bandung — are so heated that players from the top teams have to travel to away games under heavy security.