_Editor’s note: Please be advised this article contains reporting that some people may find disturbing. _
A blue tarpaulin fixed to one of the walls of the Kanjuruhan Stadium in Malang, Indonesia, brings it all back: 135 names printed in yellow, their ages bracketed in white alongside.
So many people, including so many children — 51 aged 17 or under — were lost as they tried to escape the chaos on October 1, 2022, and more than 700 others were injured. The youngest was three-year-old Virdy Prayoga, who died in the crush with his father, Rudi.
After home side Arema FC lost 3-2 to bitter rivals Persabaya, the police filled the stadium with tear gas — which is outlawed by football’s world governing body, FIFA — causing a dangerous rush to the exits, some of which were closed or blocked. There wasn’t enough space, time or oxygen.
Indonesia’s National Commission on Human Rights’ (NCHR) official report, commissioned by the government, concluded: “Tear gas was the main cause of deaths, injuries and trauma in the Kanjuruhan humanitarian tragedy.” The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) said “incidents of crimes against humanity” occurred.
It was the worst stadium tragedy for 62 years, since Peru’s national stadium disaster of 1964 in which more than 300 people died.
The victims of the Kanjuruhan stadium disaster (Pininfarina Gandhi)
President Joko Widodo welcomed his FIFA counterpart Gianni Infantino to Indonesia two weeks after the disaster, a visit which included the ill-judged decision of Infantino to play in a football match with league officials in Jakarta while the country still mourned. An agreement was struck with football’s world governing body to work in partnership to improve safety standards and infrastructure.
Government legislation passed since the disaster also forbids police from using tear gas, smoke grenades or guns in securing sports events.
Indonesia was stripped of hosting the Under-20 World Cup just a month before it was due to kick off in May. Rather than safety fears, however, the decision was based on politics. It was unclear whether Indonesia — a predominantly Muslim country that supports Palestine — would be able to ensure security around Israel’s participation. Indonesia were granted the Under-17 World Cup as compensation, a tournament which takes place between November 10 and December 2 and does not feature Israel. **
**
A year on from the Kanjuruhan disaster, a vigil is planned at the stadium.
It will be an opportunity to remember those who were lost, but their stories are far from over: 12 months on, the search for answers and justice goes on.
Victims’ families were given government aid payouts of £3,000 ($3,600) per victim, which is around half the yearly average wage in Indonesia. One regional police chief and nine officers were sacked, but only five people — two officials from Arema FC and three senior policeman — have been held criminally accountable for what happened.
The longest prison sentence handed out was just two years and six months.
“The sentence doesn’t match reality,” said Devi Athok— who lost his two teenage daughters Naila (13) and Tasya (16) and ex-wife Gebi Asta — when the sentences were handed down. “This is about the killing of 135 lives.”
GO DEEPER
Children went to a football match and didn’t come home. The story of the Kanjuruhan Stadium tragedy
Virdy and Rudi are buried next to each other close to the family home on the outskirts of Malang. Their names are spray painted in gold on humble headstones in the burial ground.
Narni — Virdy’s grandmother and mother-in-law to Rudi — regularly tends to the graves, watering the two grass mounds and the young palm tree that now grows between them. To mark one year since their deaths, flower petals are carefully arranged and two peach roses are placed close to Virdy’s name.
Virdy and Rudi’s graves (Pininfarina Gandhi)
Outside the gates of the stadium, the flower petals scattered in memory of those who lost their lives have now dried. In the immediate aftermath of the disaster, the sight of shoes belonging to the dead was a stark reminder of the human cost.
There are still shoes left in memory.
In contrast to Virdy and Rudi’s carefully manicured graves, the Kanjuruhan pitch is brown and overgrown. Shrubs lean onto the pitch from behind the goals and touchlines. The blue and red concrete stands — or tribunes, as they are known — are eerily quiet, the white railings circling the exits punctuated at regular intervals. It was down those stairs that thousands of fans rushed to what they hoped would be fresh air and safety.
Narni recalls saying an excited goodbye to Virdy on the night of the game before he left her for the last time.
“The house has been so quiet after their loss, especially without Virdy’s small voice and chatter,” she says. “As grandparents, we’d usually accompany him for walks, to play, and to visit the night market. No more.”
Three members of the family went to the game and only Elmiati returned. She was separated from her son and husband in the panic. The next time she saw them, she pulled back sheets to identify their bodies at two separate, overcrowded local hospitals.
Elmiati’s grieving process is still so raw. She says she has contemplated taking her own life and often dreams about Virdy and Rudi. She sees the scene at Gate 13, where the tear gas forced hordes of fans as they attempted to flee the stadium. She managed to free her body from the crush, but Virdy and Rudi were swept away.
“I want justice for them, for everyone that was affected,” she says. “But I know that is unlikely. Only God will avenge those that made this happen.”
She seeks solace in prayer as she cares for Virdy’s older sister, Bila, who misses her younger brother deeply.
“I’m furious,” says Narni. “No way we’re going to stay silent. My grandson is gone and I’m screaming my heart out.”
In the house hangs a picture of Elmiati, Rudi and Virdy together at the match. “Every time I go into the house I keep my eyes down as I don’t want to see the picture,” says Narni. “It makes me cry every time I see it, so I try to avoid looking.”
Elmiati holds the picture of her, Rudi and Virdy (Pininfarina Gandhi)
No one can bring themselves to open or touch the suitcase containing Virdy’s clothes. His grandfather, Agus, recalls a chat they had the day before he died as they prepared a fishing line together.
“When I’m older, I’ll help you if you need to go to the hospital,” said the boy, who would have turned four in January.
Abdul Haris, head of Arema FC’s organising committee, received a two-year sentence for negligence and not reacting adequately in the emergency. Club safety officer Suko Sutrisno was given one year for failing to implement adequate safety measures.
Jatim Hasdarmawan — head of the “Brimob” riot division — received an 18-month sentence for criminal negligence causing the death and injury of others. Malang police chiefs Wahyu Setyo Pranoto got two and a half years and Bambang Sidik Achmadi two years for the same charge.
Rival Persabaya fans did not attend the match, owing to previous violent clashes, but it was still considered to be a potentially problematic fixture with 43,000 fans attending. The Indonesian League (PSSI) refused a police request to have an earlier kick-off, instead wanting the prime-time 8pm slot. No one from the league has been successfully prosecuted, but president Mochamad Iriawan — who had posed for pictures with Infantino — did eventually step down. His removal was recommended by a government-appointed post-disaster task force.
The league programme was suspended for two months and then initially resumed behind closed doors. Arema FC were fined £13,000 and banned from playing in Malang or the surrounding area. The team — which includes former Australia international Mark Schwarzer’s son, Julian — now train in Malang but play home games around 250 miles away in Bali.
The club’s failure centred on many gates inside the arena either being closed, only partially opened, or not sufficiently manned when the situation worsened.
The NCHR highlighted witness reports that gates 12, 13 and 14 were closed and lethal crushes also occurred at gates three, seven, nine and 10. The damage to gate 13 — where Virdy and Rudi died — was typical. The blue railings were contorted due to the weight of the crowd. Next to the large iron gate, an attempt to free people had been made by breaking through air bricks.
National Police Chief Listyo Sigit Prabowo confirmed some gates were not fully opened for almost 20 minutes after the end of the game. “Exit gates should have been opened five minutes before the match ended. In addition, guards or stewards were nowhere in sight when the incident broke,” he said.
Legal avenues to push for more serious convictions like premeditated murder, especially when associated with the use of tear gas, have been blocked by judges. In April, one senior judge said tear gas had been blown by the wind, that it was out of police control, and it was therefore disputable that it reached the tribunes and stairwells.
Video evidence and eyewitness accounts, however, appear to contradict this. Victims’ families say the use of tear gas caused their loved ones’ deaths — both directly and indirectly. It caused severe, if not fatal, breathing difficulties and eyes to burn and stream. But it also led to the rush to escape into overcrowded stairwells.
The key post-match aspect centres on seven minutes between 10.08pm and 10.15pm when 45 canisters of tear gas were fired by various police officers at the crowd in six phases. Some of this was directed at fans as they made their way onto the field.
The AHRC and the Federation of the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence compiled a report that outlined what happened on the night of the disaster by collating evidence and intelligence from all stakeholders.
The names and ages of the victims are displayed on a blue tarpaulin at the stadium (Pininfarina Gandhi)
The report paints a picture of a highly charged night that quickly spiralled out of control, owing to the use of tear gas by police, some of which was later discovered to be out of date. The report suggests that turned a challenging but manageable crowd-control incident into a cascade of excessive force, which led to a life-threatening event.
The gas was fired from and into all areas of the ground including the tribunes and pitch in an attempt to control the crowd, the report says. Initially, it appeared to be a police tactic to drive people from the pitch back into the tribunes but, on several occasions, it was then fired high into the tribunes.
The AHRC found that the strict qualifying criteria for prosecutions meant it was never possible “to touch on all the criminal acts that occurred, and alleged perpetrators, in the Kanjuruhan Stadium”.
It said the firing of tear gas applies to “a number of security forces” that are “suspected of having committed premeditated serious maltreatment” and little attention has been given to the obligation of police to ensure the protection of hundreds of children present at the game.
“The scheme for the protection and restoration of victims’ rights (restitution and/or compensation) must be ensured that they are acceptable to victims and their families,” read the AHRC’s report.
There are still shoes left in memory of the victims (Pininfarina Gandhi)
Athok and Rizal Pratama — whose father Muhamed, younger brother Rifky and sister Cahaya all died in the tragedy — filed cases for murder and premeditated murder last month, but a court decided their cases did not meet the threshold to prosecute.
Sisters Tasya (16) and Naila (13) lost their lives in the disaster (Pininfarina Gandhi)
“I don’t think the issue of evidence is a problem. As legal representatives, we certainly don’t lack it,” P Imam Hidayat, a lawyer who represents 15 victims’ families, tells The Athletic. “Because physically there is audio and video and also the crime scene is still there.”
The Kanjuruhan stadium is still there, but only for now. Construction work around its perimeter is gathering pace. The fear is that the crime scene will soon be destroyed.
“We have asked for (the redevelopment) to be postponed — the authorities should keep the scene clear and clean. The victims’ families are still trying to take future legal steps. It is still ongoing,” says Hidayat. “One year has passed but the Indonesian people are mostly disappointed with the police handling of the process of the tragedy.”
One worker at the stadium says the first phase of the year-long stadium deconstruction involves removing all the shops on the underside of the stands. They became makeshift triage centres for the injured, dead and dying on the night of the disaster. They have not started on the inside of the stadium yet, but they will soon move inside.
Shop owner Widi says renovation will be good in the long run but, for the sake of the families, she can wait. “It’s not right because this is evidence,” she says. “It’s not supposed to be like this. But we are just ordinary people, we’re not considered, we don’t have a voice. We will join the prayers. That’s all we can do.”
Weeds grow at Kanjuruhan Stadium (Pininfarina Gandhi)
Hidayat says the stadium should become a “humanitarian museum” when the time is right. “In the future, it can be a lesson for our children and grandchildren that there was a humanitarian tragedy that claimed 135 lives. This is the wish of the victims’ families.”
FIFA are in regular dialogue with the Indonesian government and league regarding improving safety standards — especially due to the forthcoming Under-17 World Cup — but would not comment on the Kanjuruhan renovation, as they feel ongoing domestic legal issues fall outside their remit.
The government did not respond to a request for comment, but the PSSI says 22 stadiums are in the process of being renovated, including Kanjuruhan. A league spokesperson told The Athletic : “If (it) is still the location of an incident that needs to be investigated, state officials will definitely not give permission (to proceed).”
The PSSI says it has brought in a series of measures “from management, rules to systems” including a temporary ban on away fans to “avoid clashes between spectators” and setting up a supporters committee to aid relations, adding: “The PSSI has a moral obligation to the world football community to make improvements after this tragedy. The very important thing is we don’t want the same incident to happen again in Indonesia.”
In the build-up to the first anniversary of the disaster, a commemorative exhibition was held at Brawijaya University in Malang. “Our agenda is to remember because the government and the police want to forget it. We need the eyes of the globe on this still, we need to give hope to the families,” says organiser Rafi Azzamy.
“The litigation process is not clear. There are strange things happening. The government don’t want to investigate, clearly, and the families don’t have a voice to speak out about the legal process. Many are demotivated and we want to help them rethink.”
The stadium today (Pininfarina Gandhi)
Midun Pariwisata sobbed when he arrived in Jakarta after a 530-mile cycle ride to raise awareness.
“I lost many friends at Kanjuruhan, it was a heartbreaking tragedy,” he tells _The Athletic. _“I wanted to build solidarity with all of the supporters in the region I passed through. We can’t bring people back to life, but we can fight for transparent and professional legal treatment.”
Raki, a fan who was at the stadium that night, is less optimistic.
“We know we can’t win. Justice in this country is just a dream.”
GO DEEPER
Kanjuruhan Stadium disaster: ‘We just want justice for the victims’
(Top photos: Pininfarina Gandhi; design: Sam Richardson)
