Indonesia Stampede: Over 125 people die after stampede at Indonesian football match

Over 125 people have reportedly died after a deadly stampede at a game on Saturday in Indonesia between Arema FC and rivals Persebaya Surabaya.

Over 125 die after Indonesia Stampede After Riot Broke Out in Stadium

After Arema FC were beaten 3-2 by Peresebaya Surabaya in East Java, fans ran onto the pitch after the final whistle and police then fired tear gas, leading to the stampede.

The country’s chief security minister Mohammad Mahfud in a post shared on Instagram wrote:

“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.”

Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Twitter also expressed his condolences to those affected by the incident and has ordered the league to be halted.

“I deeply regret this tragedy and I hope this is the last soccer tragedy in this country. Don’t let another human tragedy like this happen in the future,”

“We must continue to maintain sportsmanship, humanity and a sense of brotherhood of the Indonesian nation.”

“I express my deepest condolences for the football tragedy that took lives in Kanjuruhan, Malang,”

“Due to this incident, I ordered the PSSI football league to be temporarily suspended until evaluation and security improvements were made.”

Indonesia’s sports Minister Zainudin Amali  while speaking about the disaster said:

“This tragedy happened when we were preparing for soccer game activities, both national and international level”.

“Unfortunately, this incident has certainly injured our soccer image.”

Indonesia were due to host the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup, with 24 teams competing in the competition. Indonesia will automatically qualify since they are the tournament host.

East Java police chief Nico Afinta said two officers were among the dead. In a televised news conference, he said:

“It had gotten anarchic. They started attacking officers, they damaged cars.

“We would like to convey that not all of them were anarchic. Only about 3,000 who entered the pitch.”