- A minimum of 125 people died on Saturday at Kanjuruhan stadium in Indonesia at the end of the match between Arema and Persebeya Surabaya. Outraged by the defeat suffered, the Arema amateurs leapt into the camp and then the Persebey, who, in addition to attacking, confronted the players while the police tried to control the situation with the porras and tear gas. However, this caused people to start fleeing the flood, from a single point of exit, making the situation even more chaotic. At least 125 people have died, including two policemen, drowned or crushed.
Although the FIFA International Football Federation prohibits the use of tear gas in football stadiums, the Indonesian police can use it, as FIFA rules are optional when a confederation organizes championships with its own rules, as can be read on the Wikipedia page to the Indonesian tragedy.
What has happened has again highlighted the link between football and violence. In this case, other components must be added, such as the efficiency of the security systems and the maximum number of spectators.
Accountability of those responsible
In the midst of chaos, police action has provoked the hottest criticism. In this regard, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch (HRW) have requested that the use of tear gas be investigated and "offenders" brought to justice. "Those responsible must be held accountable, whatever their status or position," says Phil Robertson, Asian deputy director of the HRW. The president of the Indonesian Widodo Game asks him to investigate everything "to start an independent and impartial investigation", in the hope that the Indonesian Police and Football Federation will not act with sufficient rigour. The President said that he would do so.
They also call on FIFA to investigate what happened.
Images broadcast by India Today: