3rd October 2022 – The East Java derby match, Arema FC vs Persebaya Surabaya in the 11th week of Liga 1 2022-2023, ends up in tragedy as police shoot out tear gas to disperse the riot happening in the stadium.
Persebaya Surabaya managed to win by 3-2 against Arema FC for the first time after 23 years of running.
This win upsets Arema FC’s (Aremania) supporters that are present in Kanjuruhan Stadium, Malang. According to an explanation from the police, after the tournament ended, Persebaya players and officials returned to their dressing room. However, they were thrown plastic bottles by Aremanias.
As Arema FC players and officials walked back to their dressing room, a couple of Aremania jumped to the field and attack the team players and officials.
The security officers moved quickly and protected the players and officials to be taken into the dressing room.
The situation took a drastic change for the worse as more Aremania supporters are on the field and attacking security forces. The security has issued several warnings however, it was ignored which leads the security to fire tear gas at the Aremania supporters.
According to the Deputy Governor of East Java, Emil Elistianto Dardak, as of Sunday (4/10) at 2:53 PM, the number of deaths was recorded at 131 people, 31 people were seriously injured, while 253 people have light to moderate injuries.
The victims are spread and treated at 22 different hospitals and other health facilities across the district and the city of Malang.
The number of fatalities in the tragedy of the Kanjuruhan Stadium has caught the world’s attention as they send condolences.
There are a lot of sides who issued the problem of using tear gases which, contributes to the riot. Additionally, a couple of sides argued that the use of tear gas violates the rule of FIFA Stadium Safety and Security Regulations regarding stadium safety and security.
