President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) asked the 2022-2023 Liga 1 to be stopped until evaluation and match security procedures were improved. Therefore, PSSI, PT LIB, Kemenpora and related parties must move quickly to resolve the incident that killed 153 people after the Arema FC vs Persebaya Surabaya match at the Kanjuruhan Stadium on Saturday, October 1, 2022.
Jokowi asked for an immediate evaluation of the Minister of Youth and Sports (Menpora) Zainudin Amali, Chairman of the All-Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) Mochamad Iriawan and National Police Chief General Pol Listyo Sigit Prabowo.
“I have also ordered the Minister of Youth and Sports, the National Police Chief and the Head of PSSI to conduct a thorough evaluation of the implementation of football matches and also the security procedures for their implementation,” Jokowi said in his statement, Sunday (2/10/2022).
The former mayor of Solo also asked the National Police Chief to thoroughly investigate this heartbreaking tragedy. Because, this incident really tarnished the world of football in the country which is slowly starting to rise.
“Especially to the National Police Chief, I ask to conduct an investigation and thoroughly investigate this case. For this reason, I have also ordered PSSI to temporarily suspend Liga 1 until evaluation and improvement of security procedures are carried out,” said Jokowi.
Just to note, riots broke out after Arema FC vs. Persebaya Surabaya match. It all started after Arema FC lost 2-3 to Persebaya Surabaya in the 11th week of Liga 1 2022-2023 which took place last night.
After the match, a number of Arema FC supporters took to the field to approach the Singo Edan player – the nickname of Arema FC. However, the situation became out of control because approximately 3,000 spectators then took to the field.
To prevent more crowds from taking to the field, the security forces sprayed tear gas. This then made the spectators in the stands of the stadium run away to avoid tear gas. This moment then made a number of supporters fall and be trampled by other supporters. This is a dark tragedy in Indonesian football and it is hoped that it will not happen again in the future.
