President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo ordered on Sunday authorities to thoroughly re-evaluate security at football matches after a riot and stampede at a stadium in East Java province killed at least 129 people.

He also told the country's football association (PSSI) to stop Liga 1 matches until the investigation had been concluded, and called for this to be the "last soccer tragedy in the nation."

Meanwhile, Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Mahfud MD said on Sunday that the number of spectators exceeded the capacity of a stadium where there was a crowd stampede that killed 129.

In an Instagram post, he said 42,000 tickets had been issued for a stadium that had a capacity to hold 38,000 people.

At least 129 people died at a football stadium in Malang when thousands of fans invaded the pitch and police fired tear gas that triggered a stampede, authorities said Sunday.

The tragedy on Saturday night, which also left 180 injured, was one of the world's deadliest sporting stadium disasters.

Arema FC supporters at the Kanjuruhan stadium stormed the pitch late on Saturday after their team lost 3-2 to the visiting team and bitter rivals, Persebaya Surabaya.

Police, who described the unrest as "riots", said they tried to persuade fans to return to the stands and fired tear gas after two officers were killed.

Many of the victims were trampled or choked to death, according to police.

Source:
courtesy of THE JAKARTA POST

by Agencies

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