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Arema FC, Persebaya meet for first time since Kanjuruhan tragedy

Arema, Persebaya clash in first time derby since stadium tragedy.

Agence France-Presse (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Thu, April 13, 2023 Published on Apr. 13, 2023 Published on 2023-04-13T08:39:00+07:00

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Arema FC, Persebaya meet for first time since Kanjuruhan tragedy

T

wo Liga-1 soccer teams, whose last game ended in one of the deadliest disasters in sport's history, met again under heavy security and without spectators.

A stampede at Kanjuruhan Stadium in Malang, East Java, in October 2022 killed 135 people, including more than 40 children. 

It happened after police fired tear gas into packed stands when home supporters invaded the pitch at the end of a match between rivals Arema FC and visitors Persebaya Surabaya.

The two sides met again on Tuesday, this time at a stadium owned by the National Police in south Jakarta. 

The match ended in a 1-0 victory for Persebaya after Arema missed a last-minute penalty.

"Rivalry is for only 90 minutes. After that we're brothers. Humanity above all else," Persebaya wrote on their official Instagram account.

The match was guarded by hundreds of security forces around the stadium and only a few officials linked to the clubs were allowed inside.

There were no reports of fan trouble outside the stadium.

The game was set to take place in March but was postponed by officials who recommended it take place outside of Persebaya's hometown because of risks including crowd trouble.

Last month, a Surabaya court sentenced an East Java Police officer to 18 months in prison over negligence that contributed to the Kanjuruhan tragedy, but victims' families voiced despair as two other officers walked free.

Several relatives of those killed in the stadium-crush broke into tears when the judge read out the verdicts on the last day of the trial, with one lawyer saying there had been "no justice" for the families.

The crush in Malang killed 135 people, including more than 40 children, after a 3-2 defeat for local club Arema FC by Persebaya Surabaya.

When supporters invaded the field, police fired tear gas, causing a deadly stampede.

The man jailed on March 16, Adj. Comr. Hasdarmawan, was a commander of the East Java Police Mobile Brigade (Brimob).

"The defendant failed to predict a situation that was actually quite easy to anticipate. There was an option not to fire [the tear gas] to respond to the supporters' violence," presiding judge Abu Achmad Sidqi Amsya told the court in Surabaya as he handed down the sentence.

Hasdarmawan had previously denied ordering his subordinates to fire tear gas toward the supporters.

Wearing a white shirt and a face mask, the officer listened quietly as the judge delivered the sentence, which was shorter than the three years prosecutors had asked for.

The tragedy forced officials and fans to confront failings in every aspect of the domestic game, which has been blighted for years by shaky infrastructure, mismanagement and violence.

Also last month, Indonesia lost the right to host the 2023 FIFA Under-20 World Cup because of opposition from two prominent governors to Israel's participation.

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