MALANG, INDONESIA : At least 125 people were murdered in a soccer stampede in Indonesia over the weekend, according to officials, and pressure is mounting on the Southeast Asian country to provide an explanation for what happened in one of the deadliest stadium catastrophes ever.
Despite the fact that hooliganism and violence have long been a part of Indonesia football, especially in big cities like the capital Jakarta, Saturday’s tragedy in a little Javan village has drawn attention to the problem.
Endah Wahyuni, the older sister of two boys, Ahmad Cahyo, 15, and Muhammad Farel, 14, who died after getting trapped in the melee, stated, “My family and I didn’t expect it would turn out like this.”At the funeral for her brothers on Sunday, she continued, “They liked soccer, but this was their first time seeing Arema live at Kanjuruhan stadium.
Mahfud MD, Indonesia’s senior security minister, announced on Monday that the country would create an impartial fact-finding committee, comprised of academics, soccer experts, and government representatives, to look into what transpired.In order to determine who caused the catastrophe, the team will continue its investigation over the next weeks, he said.
FIFA, the body in charge of world soccer, described the occurrence as a “sad day for everybody involved” and has requested a report on it from the Indonesian football authorities.Firearms or “crowd control gas,” according to its safety requirements, are not permitted to be used at matches.
The president of Arema FC, Gilang Widya Pramana, apologised to the stampede victims on Monday and took full ownership of the catastrophe.
