Persebaya Surabaya Indonesia Football stadium Persebaya Surabaya Indonesia

Relatives, Survivors Grieve At Indonesian Hospital After Stadium Stampede

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Etik sat cross-legged on the floor of the hospital, waiting anxiously for her daughter to regain consciousness after she was caught in one of the deadliest stadium disasters in world football history. "It was her first time (at a match)," said Etik, holding back tears outside the intensive care unit at the Saiful Anwar hospital in the centre of the eastern Indonesian city of Malang.

Her 21-year-old daughter Dian Puspita was one of the spectators who had a close brush with death after police fired tear gas into packed terraces to quell a pitch invasion, causing panicked fans to rush for exits.

The ensuing stampede and chaos left at least 125 people dead, with more than 300 injured. Etik -- who like many Indonesians goes by one name -- grew worried when her daughter did not return home. "I called her but she didn't pick up," she said.

She rushed to the hospital after Puspita's friend told her what had transpired, immediately heading to the emergency room to see her daughter, who lay on a bed with her shoulder broken and face red and swollen. "I didn't think this would happen," said Etik, who waited for 12 hours at the hospital on Sunday.

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FIFA pledged to help "reform and transform" the sport in the country. Gianni Infantino met Widodo in the capital Jakarta, just over two weeks after the tragedy, and a year before the Under-20 World Cup is due to be held in the Southeast Asian nation. More than 40 children were among those killed in the city of Malang, East Java on October 1, in what Infantino described as "one of the darkest days for football".
Visiting FIFA president Gianni Infantino pledged to help "reform and transform" Indonesian football on Tuesday, two weeks after the country suffered one of the worst disasters in the sport's history.
The task force investigating a stadium tragedy that killed 132 people in Indonesia has called on the country's football association chief to resign, a top minister said Friday. A stampede sparked by police firing tear gas into packed stands took place after a match between home team Arema FC and rivals Persebaya Surabaya on October 1 in the city of Malang, East Java. An investigation team was set up as anger rose against the police response after 132 people, including dozens of children, died with many killed in a crush as they rushed for small exits.
JAKARTA: The task force investigating a stadium tragedy that killed 132 people in Indonesia has called on the country's football association chief to resign, a top minister said on Friday (Oct 14).
The Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) and FIFA will form a joint taskforce in a bid to improve crowd control and safety measures after a deadly football stampede earlier this month, officials said on Thursday.
In Indonesia, football fan culture is vibrant, and its rivalries intense. Animosity between opposing teams is so strong that away fans are generally banned from attending games, as was the case at the time of the Kanjuruhan stadium disaster, when only home Arema supporters were allowed tickets.

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