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regular-article-logo Monday, 23 September 2024

Closed gates to ‘blame’ for toll

Football Association of Indonesia says it has banned the chief executive and security coordinator of Arema FC

AP/PTI Malang Published 05.10.22, 03:04 AM
Police, however, continued to insist on Tuesday that the gates were open but were too narrow and could only accommodate two people at a time when hundreds were trying to escape.

Police, however, continued to insist on Tuesday that the gates were open but were too narrow and could only accommodate two people at a time when hundreds were trying to escape. File picture

Delays in unlocking the gates at the football stadium here after violence broke out at the end of a match contributed to a disaster in which at least 131 people died, the Indonesian soccer association said on Tuesday.

The Football Association of Indonesia said it has banned the chief executive and security coordinator of Arema FC, the team that hosted Saturday’s match, for failing to secure the field and promptly issue a command to unlock the gates.

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“The doors should have been open, but were closed,” said Erwin Tobing, chief of the association’s discipline commission.

Because of a lack of workers, only a few people were ordered to open the gates, and they had not yet reached some doors when spectators began rushing to escape tear gas fired by police in an attempt to control fans who had entered the field, association spokesperson Ahmad Riyadh said.

He said all gates should be unlocked 10 minutes before the end of a match.

But on Saturday, seven minutes after the referee blew the final whistle, several doors were still locked, contributing to the toll in one of the world’s deadliest sporting disasters.

Police, however, continued to insist on Tuesday that the gates were open but were too narrow and could only accommodate two people at a time when hundreds were trying to escape.

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