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One of the biggest tragedies ever to mark the field of sports occurred a few hours ago in Indonesia, where at least 174 people lost their lives in a football match between Arema and Persebaya Surabaya in East Java.
According to what has been known so far, the tragedy occurred after the final whistle of the match, in which Persebaya Surabaya emerged as the winner.
Fans invaded the stadium and police used chemicals to repel them, causing panic.
The result was that dozens of people were trampled to death or died of suffocation.
Nearly 180 people were injured in the resulting panic, while a top official in the country revealed that the number of spectators exceeded the capacity of the stadium by around 4,000 people.
The country’s president, Joko Widodo, has ordered the suspension of all soccer matches in Indonesia until an investigation into the incident is carried out.
Videos online show fans storming the pitch after the match ended.
The actions of the police, who used chemicals to repel them, seem to have played a decisive role in the tragic outcome of the match.
The situation at a football match in East Java, Indonesia yday evening which led to the death of 129 and 180 injured from stampede and suffocation.
There needs to be investigation of police’s fatal misconduct.
— Veronica Koman 許愛茜 (@VeronicaKoman) October 2, 2022
“There was anarchy. They started attacking police officers, causing damage… We want to say that not all the fans were behaving like anarchists, only the 3,000 who invaded the stadium”, East Java Police Chief Nico Afida said after the tragedy.
According to him, at least two police officers died in the incidents.
#WATCH | At least 127 people died after violence at a football match in Indonesia, last night. The deaths occurred when angry fans invaded a football pitch after a match in East Java
(Video source: Reuters) pic.twitter.com/j7Bet6f9mE
— ANI (@ANI) October 2, 2022
When the atmosphere was overwhelmed with chemicals in the stadium, many fans tried to run for the exit.
A lot of people gathered there and the pressure from the crowd was so great that it caused the suffocation of dozens of people, according to the Chief of Police.
FIFA says that under no circumstances should chemicals be used for crowd control at football matches.
The Indonesian Football Association said it would conduct an investigation into the incident which “tarnishes the face of football in the country”.
