MALANAG
\nClashes between supporters of two Indonesian soccer teams in East Java province have killed 174 fans and police officers, mostly trampled to death, police said.
\nSeveral brawls between supporters of the two rival soccer teams were reported on Sunday inside the stadium after the Indonesian Premier League game ended with Persebaya Surabaya beating Arema Malang 3-2.
\nThe fights prompted riot police to fire tear gas, which caused panic among supporters, said East Java Police Chief Nico Afinta.
\nHundreds of people ran to an exit gate in an effort to avoid the tear gas. Some suffocated in the chaos and others were trampled, killing 34 almost instantly.
\nMore than 300 were rushed to nearby hospitals to treat injuries but many died on the way and during a treatment, Afinta said.
\nOfficials said the death toll is likely still increasing, since many of the injured victims\u2019 conditions were deteriorating.
\nVideo footage from local news channels showed people rushing onto the pitch in the stadium in Malang and images of body bags.
\nThe Indonesian top league BRI Liga 1 has suspended games for a week following the match and an investigation had been launched, the Football Association of Indonesia said.
\nFan violence is an enduring problem in Indonesia, where deep rivalries have previously turned into deadly confrontations.
\nArema FC and Persebaya Surabaya are longtime rivals.
\nPersebaya Surabaya fans were not allowed to buy tickets for the game due to fears of violence.
\nHowever, Indonesia\u2019s coordinating minister for political, legal and security affairs, Mahfud MD, said organisers ignored the recommendation of authorities to hold the match in the afternoon instead of the evening.
\nAnd he said the government had recommended only 38,000 tickets be printed, but there was instead a sell-out crowd of 42,000.
\nPolice said 3,000 people stormed the pitch.
\n\u201cWe would like to convey that… not all of them were anarchic. Only about 3,000 who entered the pitch,\u201d Afinta said.
\n\u201cThis is a regrettable incident that \u2018injures\u2019 our football at a time when supporters can watch football matches from the stadium,\u201d Indonesian Sports and Youth Minister Zainudin Amali told broadcaster Kompas.
\n\u201cWe will thoroughly evaluate the organisation of the match and the attendance of supporters. Will we return to banning supporters from attending the matches? That is what we will discuss.\u201d
\nIndonesian President Joko Widodo ordered a probe and asked the sports body to suspend Liga 1 matches while calling for this to be the \u201clast soccer tragedy in the nation\u201d.
\nIndonesia is to host the FIFA Under-20 World Cup in May at six stadiums across the country. The Kanjuruhan stadium in Malang is not included in that list.
\nOther stadium disasters include a 1989 crush in the stands at Britain\u2019s Hillsborough Stadium, which led to the deaths of 97 Liverpool fans, and the 2012 Port Said stadium tragedy in Egypt where 74 people died in clashes.
\nIn 1964, 320 people were killed and more than 1,000 injured during a stampede at a Peru-Argentina Olympic qualifier at Lima\u2019s National Stadium.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
MALANAG Clashes between supporters of two Indonesian soccer teams in East Java province have killed 174 fans and police officers, mostly trampled to death, police said. Several brawls between supporters of the two rival soccer teams were reported on Sunday inside the stadium after the Indonesian Premier League game ended with Persebaya Surabaya beating Arema […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":287022,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-287005","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n