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Tag: Arema FC

  • Six face prosecution for over the stadium crush

     Indonesia’s police chief says, six individuals, including police officers and organisers, are being investigated for their roles in a crash at a football stadium that claimed at least 131 lives.

    The maximum punishment for the crime of criminal negligence causing death is five years.

    The disaster happened last week when police fired tear gas at fans who invaded the pitch after a defeat.

    Hundreds tried to flee through the exits, which caused a deadly stampede.

    The incident has led to public anger, with much of it directed at the police and their use of tear gas. The local police chief in Malang, where the incident took place, was fired and nine other officers were suspended.

    Those now facing charges include three police officers who had tear-gassed fans, the head of the home club Arema FC’s organizing committee, and one of the club’s security officers.

    Two of the police officers had ordered their colleagues to fire tear gas, national police chief Listyo Sigit Prabowo told local media. The third knew about FIFA’s safety regulations that prohibit the use of tear gas at matches but did not prevent it from being used, he added.

    Authorities have said that some 2,000 officers – including several police units and soldiers – were at the stadium that night.

    Videos from the incident, which took place on Saturday night in East Java, showed Arema FC fans running onto the pitch after the final whistle marked the home team’s 2-3 defeat and police firing tear gas in response.

    More than 320 other people were injured as supporters were trampled on and suffocated in crushes as they fled the gas. Indonesia’s deputy minister of children and women affairs said the victims included children between three and 17 years.

    Footage online showed fans clambering over fences to escape. Separate videos appeared to show lifeless bodies on the floor.

    “We [saw] these different police forces running around the pitch, brutally kicking people, hitting people. This is completely unacceptable behaviour,” Jacqui Baker, a policing expert, told the BBC after the incident.

    But police said the club’s officials had not complied with safety requirements, allowing in a larger crowd than the stadium could handle. They added that the exits were too narrow for people to pass through.

    The stampede is one of the worst stadium disasters ever. In the UK, 97 Liverpool fans died in a crash at the Hillsborough stadium in Sheffield in 1989. They were attending the club’s FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest.

    Stadium disaster graphic

     

  • 174 people die in Indonesia stadium disaster

    In one of the greatest stadium catastrophes in history, an altercation during an Indonesian football game resulted in at least 174 deaths, according to theathletic.com.

    The terrible tragedy happened at the stadium when Arema FC fell 3-2 to rivals Persebaya Surabaya in East Java during a stampede.

    After the final whistle, angry fans rushed onto the field, and amid the chaos, police reportedly used tear gas on several rioting fans.

    Mohammad Mahfud, Indonesia’s national security minister, reported that 42,000 of the stadium’s 38,000 seats were sold.

    Mohammad Mahfud also consoled families who lost their loved ones in the riot and assured victims of government support.

    “To the victims family, our condolences. We also hope that the victims’ families will be patient and continue to coordinate with the government officials in the field.

    “I need to emphasize that the tragedy of Kanjuruhan is not a clash between Persebaya supporters and Arema. Because Persebaya supporters can’t watch at that match. Supporters in the field are only from Arema.

    “Therefore, the victims generally died from pushing, squeezing, trampling, and shortness of breath. There were no victims of beating or harassment between supporters.

    “The government has made improvements to the implementation of football matches over time and will continue to improve.”

  • Indonesia: About 174 dead in football stadium crush

    One of the deadliest stadium disasters in history occurred at an Indonesian football game, where at least 174 people perished.

    In the aftermath of the host team Arema FC’s defeat to ferocious opponents at the packed stadium late on Saturday in Malang, East Java, some 180 people also sustained injuries.

    The crash took place after police tear-gassed fans who invaded the pitch.

    As panic spread, thousands surged towards Kanjuruhan stadium’s exits, where many suffocated.

    Fifa, the world’s governing football body, states that no “crowd control gas” should be carried or used by stewards or police at matches.

    One eyewitness told the BBC that police had fired numerous tear gas rounds “continuously and fast” after the situation with fans became “tense”.

    Fifa President Gianni Infantino said it was “a dark day for all involved in football and a tragedy beyond comprehension”.

    ‘It had gotten anarchic’ – Police

    Early reports put the death toll at about 130, but officials later announced a significant rise to 174, with 11 more people seriously injured.

    President Joko Widodo has ordered that all matches in Indonesia’s top league must be stopped until an investigation has been carried out.

    Videos from the stadium show fans running onto the pitch after the final whistle marked the home team’s 2-3 defeat, and police firing tear gas in response.

    “It had gotten anarchic. They started attacking officers, they damaged cars,” said Nico Afinta, police chief in East Java, adding that two police officers were among the dead.

    “We would like to convey that… not all of them were anarchic. Only about 3,000 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.

    Damaged police vehicles
    IMAGE SOURCE,EPA Image caption, Damaged police vehicles lay 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.

    President Widodo called for this to be the “last soccer tragedy in the nation” after ordering that all Liga 1 games should be paused pending an investigation.

    ‘It was bang, bang, bang’ – Eyewitness

    Muhamad Dipo Maulana, 21, who was at the match, told BBC Indonesian that after the game had ended a few Arema fans went on the pitch to remonstrate with the home team players but were immediately intercepted by police and “beaten”.

    Muhamad Dipo Maulana
    IMAGE SOURCE,BBC INDONESIAN Image caption, Muhamad Dipo Maulana said he saw people suffocating while trying to get out of the stadium

    More spectators then took to the pitch in protest, the supporter said, adding that the situation became “tense”.

    “Police with dogs, shields, and soldiers came forward,” Mr Dipo told the BBC.

    He said he had heard more than 20 tear gas shots toward spectators at 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.

    One of the worst football disasters

    The stampede is one of the worst of a tragically long line of stadium disasters.

    In 1964, a total of 320 people were killed and more than 1,000 injured during a stampede at a Peru-Argentina Olympic qualifier in Lima.

    In 1985, 39 people died and 600 were hurt at the Heysel stadium in Brussels, Belgium, when fans were crushed against a wall that then collapsed during the European Cup final between Liverpool (England) and Juventus (Italy).

    In the UK, a crush developed at the Hillsborough stadium in Sheffield, resulting in the deaths of 97 Liverpool fans attending the club’s FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest.