October 4, 2022 2:01 pm
Valdia Balaptri、Raja Lumbanrau (Indonesia·Maran), Matt Murphy (London), BBC News
image provided, AFP
Many spectators rushed to the pitch after the match at Kangjulhan Stadium.
The riots came shortly after Arema FC’s 3-2 defeat to historical rivals Persebaya Surabaya. 125 people died. Roca said he was “mentally devastated”.
The youngest person to die was only three, officials said.
In the incident, the fans turned into a crowd after the game and rushed onto the pitch. Panic broke out in the stadium when police fired tear gas. Thousands rushed to the exit, many suffocating. More than 320 people were injured.
So far, around 18 police officers have been interrogated for tear gas firing. At least nine police officers were also suspended, with the sacking of the police chief of the city of Malang, where the stadium is located.
image provided, AFP via Getty Images
The tear gas fired by the police sent the crowd into panic
Eyewitnesses interviewed by the BBC said police fired numerous gas cylinders “continuously and rapidly” after the situation became “tense” with fans.
Videos posted on social media showed fans climbing the fence as they tried to get out of the stadium. Some footage appears to show a corpse lying on the stadium floor.
Chandra, who was at the scene, said the smoke that covered the stands immediately caused panic in the crowd.
“The children cried, the women fainted, screams were heard here and there and everyone ran out.”
One of the spectators, Eko, said he got stuck at the grandstand exit because there were so many people trying to escape. “My friend and I went back to the top of the stands and covered ourselves in scarves to avoid smoking,” said Eko.
Esther Andayanengchas told the BBC that her 17-year-old daughter, Deborah, panicked and suffered severe injuries, including a broken neck and a swollen brain.
“I asked my daughter not to go to the game that day. In the morning she didn’t come home and her friends were looking for her.
“I looked for her in the hospital emergency room, but she wasn’t there. The hospital told me to look at the morgue. Deborah didn’t have an ID, so there was confusion.”
Other eyewitnesses have heard a parent yell, “Where is my child?” in chaos. One man said he saw a parent fall while he was protecting a child.
“A mother passed out with her baby in her arms and a boy passed out next to her,” the eyewitness told the BBC.
“Some fans took the mother and baby and left the stadium. They were taken away unconscious, probably due to tear gas.”
Muhammad Dipo Maulana, 21, who was watching the game, told BBC Indonesian that several Arema fans entered the field after the game to protest the home team players, but were soon arrested by the police and said he was beaten.
A large number of spectators then entered the field to protest.
“Police and soldiers with police dogs and shields have come forward,” he told the BBC. She also said she heard tear gas being fired at crowds more than 20 times.
Police spokesman Dedi Placecho said the investigated officers were “responsible for carrying weapons” and were being investigated by an internal affairs investigation team.
He added that on-site security teams and officials from the Indonesian Football League have also been investigated.
The Indonesian Human Rights Commission said it would conduct its own investigation into the incident. President Joko Widodo has ordered the suspension of all games in the top flight pending an official investigation.
Human rights group Amnesty International said the police response amounted to “excessive use of force by the state” to control the unarmed crowd. Protesters staged protests in the capital Jakarta the night after the incident, holding placards urging them to stop police brutality.
The country’s police have long been criticized for the frequent use of tear gas in crowded stadiums.
Arema FC manager Roca told Spanish broadcaster Cadena Ser he believed police had “overstepped the line” in an attempt to control the crowd.
image provided, EPA
A police car waiting inside the stadium was attacked
The investigation was released after FIFA called the incident “a ‘black day for all involved in football and a tragedy beyond comprehension'”.
FIFA has ruled that police and other personnel are not allowed to carry or use “crowd control gas” during matches and asked the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) to report on the matter.
Chief Security Officer Mahhud MD posted on Instagram that 42,000 tickets for the night game at the 38,000-seat Khanjurhan Stadium had been sold.
“There was chaos. People attacked police officers and damaged vehicles,” said East Java Police Chief Niko Afinta. Two police officers were among the dead.
