Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo has ordered a full audit of stadiums across the country, to ensure compliance with safety and security protocols.
Key points:
- President Joko Widodo says it is up to FIFA to decide on any sanctions
- FIFA has asked Indonesia’s soccer federation for a full report
- Mr Widodo says the problem during the fatal stampede was “locked doors and steep stairs”
On Wednesday, Mr Widodo also said that soccer’s world governing body, FIFA, had offered to help his country address its football problems, after he had spoken to the body’s chief, Gianni Infantino, about the weekend’s deadly stadium stampede.
In one of the world’s worst soccer disasters, hundreds of fans were crushed as they tried to flee the overpacked stadium in Indonesia’s East Java region on Saturday, after police fired tear gas to disperse agitated supporters of the losing side, Arema FC, who had poured onto the pitch.
Authorities said at least 131 people died, including 33 minors.
Mr Widodo said Mr Infantino had offered his support.
“He said, if needed, FIFA can help fix Indonesia’s soccer management,” he said.
‘Doors should have been open’
Soccer is hugely popular in the country of 270 million people, where the sport has had its fair share of problems, from hooliganism and heavy-handed policing to event mismanagement.
Asked earlier about the possibility of FIFA sanctions over the disaster, Mr Widodo said that was a matter for sport’s governing body to decide.
FIFA — which called the incident “a tragedy beyond comprehension” — has asked Indonesia’s soccer federation for a full report.
Indonesia has set up a fact-finding team comprised of soccer experts, academics and ministry officials in the hope of revealing the culprits.
Police are investigating dozens of officers over a suspected ethical breach, and nine have been suspended.
The Football Association of Indonesia has permanently banned the chief executive and security coordinator of the team that hosted Saturday’s match, Arema FC, for failing to secure the field and promptly issue a command to unlock the gates.
“The doors should have been open, but were closed,” said Erwin Tobing, chief of the association’s discipline commission.
On Wednesday, Mr Widodo said that the main problem during the stampede was “locked doors and steep stairs”.
Speaking during a visit to the stadium where the disaster took place, he said he expected a safety assessment of all stadiums in Indonesia to be completed in one month.
Safety standards in question
According to recommendations by FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation, exits at stadiums must be unlocked at all times during a game for safety purposes.
Those rules don’t necessarily apply to domestic or national leagues but, nevertheless, are a safety standard, as is the recommendation against the use of tear gas as a crowd-control measure.
Photos from the Malang stadium showed four connecting door panels forming one gate.
There were 14 gates in total.
Police said their investigation focused on video recordings from surveillance cameras at six of the 14 gates where most of the victims died.
“For those six gates, they were not closed but they were too small. They had a capacity for two people but there were hundreds coming out. There was a crush there,” police spokesperson Dedi Prasetyo told reporters.
He added that the gates were the responsibility of the organisers.
Most of the deaths occurred when riot police fired tear gas and caused fans to make a panicked, chaotic run for the exits.
Police acted after some of the 42,000 Arema fans ran onto the pitch in anger after their team was defeated 3-2, its first loss at home against visiting Persebaya Surabaya in 23 years.
The stadium was designed to hold a maximum crowd of 38,000.
On Monday, police announced they had removed a police chief and nine elite officers, and 18 others were being investigated for responsibility in the firing of tear gas inside the stadium.
Wires/ABC