170 people died in a stampede at a football stadium in Indonesia. Officials said the tragedy took place after a Saturday night football match in East Java.


Arema FC team lost to the Persebaya Surabaya team in the match. This started a fight between the fans of the two teams. About 180 people were injured. "The stampede started when the police fired tear gas at the supporters of the teams," East Java police officer Nico Afinta said. Two police officers were also killed in the incident.

The videos showed fans running toward the pitch after the final whistle of the match. "34 people died inside the stadium and the rest died in the hospital," Afinta said. "The stampede slowly turned into anarchy. The fans started attacking the officers and vandalized the cars," police officer Afinta said.


The Indonesian Defense Minister said that the visitors came to watch the match beyond the capacity of the stadium. "Everyone went to the exit point in a stampede. Some people died of suffocation as everyone gathered there at once," he said. Many videos related to this are being shared on social media. The videos also showed fans trying to cross the fence to get out.


Dead bodies lying on the ground are seen in the videos. The Indonesian Football Association said it has started an investigation into the incident. The association said the incident had damaged the image of Indonesian football.


After the incident, the top league BRI Liga 1 was suspended for a week. President Joko Widodo has ordered the immediate cancellation of all matches in Indonesia's top league until an investigation into the incident is completed.


"This is the last football tragedy in the country," Widodo said.


Fifa, the governing body of football around the world, has said that gas should not be used to control crowds at match venues. Incidents of violence during football matches in Indonesia are not new. Fearing these clashes, Persebaya fans were also banned from buying tickets.

However, the capacity of the stadium is 38,000, and 42,000 tickets have been sold for this match, the Defense Minister said in an Instagram post. In 1964, 320 people died in a stampede in Lima, Peru during an Olympic qualifier between Peru and Argentina.

In 1989, 97 Liverpool fans died in Sheffield, UK.