By a Staff Reporter
After a mid-table team’s clash in Indonesia Liga 1 in Malang, East Java in Indonesia, enraged fans attacked a pitch, resulting in the death of at least 127 individuals and the injury of more than 180 spectators.
On Saturday, Indonesian Liga 1 side Persebaya Surabaya secured a 3-2 victory over its rivals Arema Malang in Indonesia’s top professional football division at Kanjuruhan Stadium.
Silvio Rodrigues Pereira Junior netted in the 8th minute to give Persebaya an early lead. Leo Lelis doubled Persebaya’s lead in the 32nd minute.
Arema came back in the match as Abel Camara opened their account in the 42nd minute. Abel Camara converted the spot kick in the injury time of the first half to even the match before going into the break.
Persebaya came back to add one more after the break. Sho Yamamoto scored the decider in the 51st minute. The final whistle of the match means Arema suffered the first loss in more than two decades to their bitter rival Persebaya.
The spectators stormed into the field after the final whistle and police responded to a riot with tear gas. “In the incident, 127 people died, two of whom are police officers,” East Java police chief Nico Afinta said in a statement on Sunday. “Thirty-four people died inside the stadium and the rest died in hospital,” Afinta added.
The Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI) announced that it will send an inquiry team to Malang to determine what caused the crush and it decided to stop all the football matches for one week.
Nepal National Football team member Rohit Chand also competes in Liga 1. He arrived in Indonesia on Friday from International duty. Rohit’s team stands at the bottom of the league table with 4 points from 11 matches.
