It is a horrible day in the history of football as at least not less than 129 persons have been confirmed dead after police fired tear gas, that led to a crowd crush. It was a case of suffocation as revealed by videos from the stadium it shows fans running on to the pitch after the final whistle marked the home team’s 2-3 defeat, and police firing tear gas in response.
Police chief Nico Afinta in the East Java said: “It had gotten anarchic. They started attacking officers, they damaged cars,” he also said that two police officers were among the dead. “We would like to convey that… not all of them were anarchic. Only about 3,000 who entered the pitch,” he said.
Fleeing fans “went out to one point at the exit. Then there was a build-up, in the process of accumulation there was shortness of breath, lack of oxygen”, the officer added.
Videos on social media show fans clambering over fences to escape. Separate videos appear to show lifeless bodies on the floor. Also, they were damaged police vehicles on the pitch inside Kanjuruhan stadium. The Indonesian football association (PSSI) said it had launched an investigation, adding that the incident had “tarnished the face of Indonesian football”.
Violence at football matches is not new in Indonesia, and Arema FC and Persebaya Surabaya are long-time rivals. However Persebaya Surabaya fans were banned from buying tickets for the game because of fears of clashes.
Chief Security Minister Mahfud MD posted on Instagram that 42,000 tickets had been sold for the match at Kanjuruhan stadium, which has a stated capacity of 38,000.
One eye witness Muhamad Dipo Maulana, 21 said: ‘It was bang, bang, bang’ he also said after the match ended a few Arema fans went on the pitch to remonstrate with the home team players but were immediately intercepted by police and “beaten”. More spectators then took to the pitch in protest, the supporter said, adding that the situation became “tense”.
One said he had heard more than 20 tear gas shots towards spectators at the stadium. Muhamad Dipo Maulana said he saw people suffocating while trying to get out of the stadium “There was a lot, like bang, bang, bang! The sound was continuous and fast. The sound was really loud and directed to all the stands,” he added.
Mr Dipo said he saw people in disarray, panicking and suffocating while trying to get out of the stadium. There were many children and old people who were affected by the tear gas, the eyewitness added.