Violence Erupts At Stadium After Football Match In Indonesia; 129 Dead, Over 180 Injured
East Java, 2nd October 2022: Violence erupted after a football match in Indonesia. The death toll in the stampede has gone up to 129, while the number of injured crossed 180. News agency Reuters quoted police saying that spectators of the losing team were enraged and attacked the pitch. Police fired tear gas shells to control the miscreants, after which a stampede broke out.
The incident occurred on Saturday night after a football match of the Indonesian league BRI Liga 1 at the Kanjuruhan Stadium in Malang Regency, East Java. Indonesia’s Police Chief in the East Java province, Nico Afinta, told reporters that the pitch was attacked by supporters of the losing side after the match between Arema FC and Persebaya Surabaya. Officers had to release tear gas to pacify the attackers, which led to a stampede. Reportedly, many people have also died due to suffocation.
In video footage posted on social media, people can be seen running on the stadium pitch in Malang. In this incident, 129 people died, while more than 180 people were injured.
The Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI) issued a statement expressing regret over the incident and said a team has left for Malang to begin an investigation into what happened after the game. The statement said, “PSSI regrets the actions of Arema supporters at Kanjuruhan Stadium. We are sorry and apologize to the families of the victims and all parties involved in the incident. For this, the PSSI immediately constituted an investigation team and immediately left for Malang.”
The league has suspended games for a week following the riots. The Arema FC team has also been banned from hosting for the rest of this season’s competition. “We announced this decision after receiving instructions from the president of PSSI. We are all waiting for an investigation by PSSI into the matter,” said director Akhmad Hadian Lukita, Chairman of the League’s owner PT LIB.
