On 1 October 2022, a fatal crowd crush occurred following an association football match at Kanjuruhan Stadium in Malang Regency, East Java, Indonesia. Following a loss by home side Arema to their rivals Persebaya Surabaya, around 3,000 Arema supporters invaded the pitch. Police said that the rioting supporters attacked the players and the team officials. The police attempted to protect the players and stop the riot, but the crowds clashed with security forces. In response, riot police units deployed tear gas, which triggered a stampede of people in the stadium trying to escape the gas. A crush formed at one exit, resulting in fans being asphyxiated.
As of 24 October 2022, 135 people had lost their lives, and 583 others were injured as a result of the accident. This is the second deadliest stadium disaster in association football history, right behind the 1964 Estadio Nacional disaster in Peru which killed 328 people. It is also the second deadliest crowd crush of 2022 behind the Seoul Halloween crowd crush on 29 October that killed 159. It is therefore also the deadliest football-related disaster in both Asia and the Eastern Hemisphere.
On 6 October 2022, Indonesian police chief Police-General Listyo Sigit Prabowo announced that six different individuals and groups had been placed under suspicion: the director of the match organizer PT Liga Indonesia Baru (LIB), the Arema head of security officer, the members of the Arema match organizing committee for negligence, and three police officers for the use of tear gas.
On 16 January 2023, almost three months after the disaster, the first trial over events related to the Kanjuruhan disaster was held in Surabaya, East Java.
Six people were prosecuted. Three defendants received prison sentences, while one was released due to insufficient evidence. Two police officers who were initially acquitted were later sentenced by the Indonesian Supreme Court on 23 August 2023.
Background
Football hooliganism has had a long history in Indonesia, with at least 95 football-related deaths between 2005 and 2018. Several teams' fan clubs have so-called "commanders", and riot police units are present at many matches, with flares often being used to disperse rioting crowds invading the pitch. In 2018, riots at Kanjuruhan following a match between Malang's Arema and Persib Bandung resulted in a fatality after riot police employed tear gas to disperse crowds.
Although FIFA regulation 19b states that tear gas should not be used in stadiums by pitchside stewards or police, Indonesian police riot units do make use of it to secure football matches. FIFA regulations are optional when an association or confederation arranges an event under its own competition regulations. The FIFA regulations therefore only serve as guidelines in those cases.
Arema and Persebaya Surabaya, longstanding rival clubs at the Super East Java Derby, were scheduled to play a Liga 1 regular season match at Malang's 42,000-capacity Kanjuruhan Stadium on 1 October. Due to security concerns, police had requested that the match be held earlier in the afternoon at 15:30 WIB (08:30 UTC) instead of at 20:00 (13:00 UTC), and that only 38,000 people be allowed in the stadium. However, that request was not met by Liga 1 officials and match organisers, and 42,000 tickets were printed. Nevertheless, following police advice, Persebaya supporters – known as Bonek – received no tickets to the match.
The Malang Police Chief had held a phone conversation with the Director of Operations of LIB, Sujarno, who said the match still had to be held at night.
Disaster
Throughout the match itself, the security situation was smooth and without major incidents. Following the end of the match, in which Persebaya defeated Arema 3–2 – Persebaya's first ever win away at Arema – four spectators from stands 9 and 10 entered the field to provide encouragement to Arema players after their defeat. According to a witness, they were chased by the police, who pulled off their shirts and beat them; this triggered other supporters to enter the field area.
Approximately 3,000 supporters of Arema, nicknamed Aremania, invaded the pitch. The first group of spectators to invade the pitch came from stand 12. They scattered around, looking for their team's players and officials, and demanding their explanation of the defeat "after 23 years of undefeated home matches" against its rival Persebaya.
Security officials and police tried to divert more Aremania away from the pitch, but to no avail, forcing the Indonesian Army (TNI-AD) and Mobile Brigade Corps' Anti Riot Unit (PHH) to be called in to assist with the dispersal of the angry supporters. Aremania then proceeded to throw objects, damage police vehicles and start fires in the stadium, forcing Persebaya's players to rush for cover inside locker rooms, and subsequently be kept in police armoured personnel carriers for an hour before they could leave the stadium.
After failed "preventive measures", the police began using tear gas in an attempt to disperse the rioters on the pitch. Initially, the police fired tear gas towards stand 12, followed by stands 10, 11, and 14, and finally the south and north stands. This affected both the Aremania invading the pitch and other people there, causing Aremania in the south stand to run for the single exit point (gates 12–14) to avoid the tear gas. All gates were locked except gate 14, with most victims later found at gates 13 and 14, resulting in a crowd crush and the asphyxiation of many people. Tear gas was also deployed outside the stadium. Listyo claimed a total of 11 shots of tear gas were fired (7 to the south, 1 to the north and 3 onto the pitch), while The Washington Post reported that police fired at least 40 rounds of tear gas at the crowd within 10 minutes. The police said that ten police vehicles and three private vehicles were destroyed by the Aremania.
In the immediate aftermath of the riot, the players' lobby and changing rooms were used as makeshift evacuation posts, with Arema players and officials helping to evacuate victims still in the stadium. The victims were taken to hospitals by ambulances and Indonesian Army trucks. Many died on the way to or during treatment.
Casualties
On 5 October 2022, the Indonesian National Police confirmed 131 deaths from this disaster. This echoed the previous report of 131 deaths from the Malang Regency Office of Health. Meanwhile, 133 deaths were reported by the Postmortem Crisis Center Post, established by the government of Malang Regency. Aremania disputed the official numbers, alleging that more than 200 people may have perished, as the bodies of some of those who died were immediately returned to their families instead of being transported to hospitals. Thirty-nine children aged 3 to 17 are also included in the death toll. The number was expected to increase as some of the treated victims were "deteriorating". As of 18 October 2022, the reported number of casualties was 583 injured and 133 killed. The 135th victim died on 24 October 2022.
The municipal government of Malang paid for the medical treatment of the victims. Kepanjen Regional Hospital and Wava Hospital were reported to be full of disaster victims, leading to some being sent to other hospitals around the city.
The governor of East Java, Khofifah Indar Parawansa, announced that the government of East Java would provide financial compensation to the victims' families. Each next-of-kin of the deceased would receive Rp 10 million (USD 699), while the wounded victims would receive Rp 5 million (USD 349) each. On 4 October 2022, Widodo announced the provision of additional financial compensation in the amount of Rp 50 million (USD 3495) from the central government to each deceased's next-of-kin.
The disaster is the second deadliest in the history of association football worldwide, after the 1964 Estadio Nacional disaster in Peru, which killed 328 people.
Ages and genders
Of those who died, 38 were aged under 17. The youngest who died was 3 years old and the oldest was 45 years old.
Aftermath
As a result of the incident, President Joko Widodo later instructed the association to suspend all Liga 1 matches until a full "evaluation of improvement of security procedures" had been carried out, and this was followed by a joint fact-finding team deciding that all football leagues matches (Liga 1, Liga 2 and Liga 3) were temporarily suspended until the President said it could be normalised. The Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) apologised for the incident and announced a ban on home matches for Arema for the rest of the season. PSSI also stated that the decision by PT Liga Indonesia Baru, the organiser, to hold the match had been agreed to by other stakeholders of Indonesian football. In addition, Widodo also ordered all Liga 1, 2 and 3 stadiums to be fully audited by Minister of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) Basuki Hadimuljono.
On 3 October 2022, two days after the incident, the Head of Indonesian police Listyo Sigit Prabowo removed the Head of Police of Malang, Police Adjunct Chief Commissioner Ferli Hidayat, from his duties. Nine officers from East Java Mobile Brigade Corps were also removed.
Also on 3 October 2022, PSSI announced that the 2023 AFC U-17 Asian Cup qualification group B matches, which was held in Indonesia, would be played behind closed doors starting that night.
On 4 October 2022, a police officer was held in custody for 21 days for making defamatory tweets about the incident using the official Twitter account of Bantul's Srandakan police in the Special Region of Yogyakarta. He responded to criticism of the police with "Die!", "Who are you defending?" and "I salute the soldiers! Exterminate!".
After the incident, a video showing Indonesian soldiers beating and kicking Arema supporters surfaced. Commander of the Indonesian National Armed Forces Andika Perkasa promised that the act would not be considered self-defence, and the soldiers involved would be charged under criminal law.
After his meeting with FIFA President Gianni Infantino on 18 October 2022, Widodo issued orders to deactivate Kanjuruhan Stadium, demolish it and rebuild it according to FIFA standards.
On 5 December 2022, the imposed suspension of Liga 1 was lifted and competition resumed, with all remaining matches of the Liga 1 2022–23 first round (game weeks 12 until 17) being held behind closed doors.
Rebuilding of Kanjuruhan Stadium was completed on 21 January 2025. The process cost Rp 350 billion, making the new Kanjuruhan Stadium the most expensive stadium ever built in Indonesia. Minister of Public Works Dody Hanggodo expected the stadium to be strong enough for 30–40 years.
Legal
Following the incident, there were calls from the Institute for Security and Strategic Studies (ISESS), an Indonesian defence and security think tank, and the Indonesian Police Watch (IPW) to dismiss the Malang police chief, Adjunct Chief Commissioner Ferli Hidayat. ISESS also demanded the dismissal of the East Java police chief Inspector General Nico Afinta, while IPW requested Afinta to bring the organisers of the match to trial.
The PSSI Disciplinary Commission imposed a lifetime ban on football activities on the chairman of the Arema match organising committee, Abdul Haris, and the Arema head of security officer, Suko Sutrisno. In addition, Arema was subjected to a Rp 250 million (US$16,000) fine, and prohibited from holding home matches with spectators. Matches were to be played far from the Malang home base, up to 250 km (155.34 mi) from the location.
Investigation
The National Commission on Human Rights of Indonesia (KOMNAS HAM) announced plans to investigate the incident and the use of tear gas by police. Although FIFA's rules say that tear gas should not be used inside stadiums, the chief of regional police defended its use, citing the threats posed by the rioters to players and officials. However, the police also stated that they would evaluate the use of tear gas. Investigators are also examining the role of 18 police officers who operated the tear gas launcher. On 12 October 2022, KOMNAS HAM published their findings. On 14 October 2022, Narasi, an Indonesian independent news office, released a visual investigation detailing how the disaster unfolded, and highlighting the over-zealous use of tear gas. The account was compiled by Narasi from more than 80 amateur video recordings.
Police
Police investigated CCTV footage from six of the gates at the Kanjuruhan Stadium on 4 October. Gates 3 and 9 to 13 received special attention because the results of a preliminary analysis indicated that most of the victims were at those gates.
On 6 October 2022, Head of Indonesian police Listyo Sigit Prabowo announced six accused. Ahmad Hadi Lukita, the director of PT Liga Indonesia Baru, was charged for his negligence of stadium verification. Abdul Haris, Arema match organising committee chairman, was charged for not fulfilling the obligation of creating a set of safety rules or guidelines for spectators, as well as allowing ticket sales above stadium capacity. Suko Sutrisno, Arema head of security officer, was charged for not creating risk assessment document, and ordering gate stewards to leave stadium gates in the wake of the disaster. Three police officers were also charged: Wahyu Setyo Pranoto, Chief of Operations of Malang Regency Police; Hasdarman, Commander of 3rd Mobile Brigade Company of East Java Police, and Bambang Sidik Achmadi, Head of Prevention Unit of Malang Regency Police. Wahyu was charged for not prohibiting the use of tear gas, despite being aware of its prohibition by FIFA regulations, while Hasdarman and Achmadi were charged for ordering the use of tear gas by their subordinates. They were charged under Articles 359 and 360 of the Indonesian Criminal Code, as well as Article 103 juncto Article 52 of Indonesian Law No. 11/2022 on Sports.