Indonesia to demolish soccer stadium the place stampede killed over 130 By Reuters

By Stanley Widianto

JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia will demolish and rebuild a soccer stadium the place a stampede killed greater than 130 folks this month, President Joko Widodo mentioned on Tuesday as he vowed to “completely remodel” the game within the soccer-mad nation.

The president, popularly often called Jokowi, was chatting with reporters on the state palace after assembly Gianni Infantino, head of world soccer governing physique FIFA.

“Kanjuruhan stadium in Malang…we’ll demolish it and rebuild based on FIFA requirements,” he mentioned.

The lethal stampede after a league match within the metropolis of Malang on Oct 1 has been blamed on police firing tear gasoline within the stadium, a crowd management measure banned by FIFA.

The president mentioned he had agreed with Infantino on vital adjustments to how the game was managed in Indonesia.

“We agreed to completely remodel Indonesian soccer,” he mentioned. “Each side of preparation…must be primarily based on FIFA requirements.”

The assembly between Jokowi and Infantino comes after Indonesia and FIFA agreed to type a joint task-force within the wake of the stadium tragedy, and because the nation prepares to host the Beneath-20 World Cup subsequent yr.

Talking alongside Jokowi, Infantino mentioned FIFA’s first precedence was to make sure the security of each gamers and followers within the Southeast Asian nation.

“This can be a soccer nation, a rustic the place soccer is a ardour for over 100 million folks,” he mentioned. “We owe it to them that after they see a match they’re secure and safe.”

Infantino, who introduced the president with a purple FIFA jersey along with his title printed throughout it, mentioned the worldwide soccer physique would work intently with the federal government to make sure all stadiums met security necessities, and that the Beneath-20 World Cup ran easily subsequent yr.

Beneath strain to elucidate what brought on one of many world’s deadliest stadium disasters, a fact-finding staff fashioned by the federal government launched a report final week which concluded that the “extreme” and “indiscriminate” use of tear gasoline was the main explanation for dying.

As followers tried to exit the stadium after the defeat of the house facet Arema FC by Persebaya Surabaya, they had been caught in a lethal crush, with many, together with greater than 40 minors, dying from asphyxiation.

The report additionally recognized different contributing components, together with the stadium being stuffed past capability, locked exit doorways, and a push by league officers to carry the sport at evening to safe higher rankings for an area broadcaster, regardless of a request by police to carry a match between fierce rivals throughout the day.

The actual fact-finding staff additionally mentioned that greater than three hours of CCTV footage about an hour after the match had been deleted. The staff has requested that police present this footage.

The staff additionally referred to as on the pinnacle of the Indonesian Soccer Affiliation to resign.