‘I couldn’t breathe’: Fan safety under spotlight after Indonesia football match chaos kills 2

JAKARTA: It was the big football match Raihan Fauzi, 25, had been waiting for.

His hometown club Bandung Persib was about to play Surabaya’s Persebaya on Jun 17. The match took place at Gelora Bandung Lautan Api (GBLA), which is Persib’s homeground.

As a hardcore Persib supporter, Mr Fauzi went to the game with his distant relative and fellow hardcore fan Asep Ahmad Solihin, 29, whose nickname is Ahmad. 

They arrived at the stadium at about 6pm, more than two hours before the pre-season President Cup game was scheduled to start.

“The situation was still under control at 6pm. But at about 6.30pm to 7pm, officials closed the entrance gate apparently because the stadium was already full,” Mr Fauzi recounted in an interview with CNA.

Many were unable to enter the stadium although they had purchased tickets through official channels.

People became angry and aggressive, as they pushed each other in order to enter the stadium, he added.

“I couldn’t breathe. People were pushing me and I couldn’t move.

“I surrendered my life to God,” said Mr Fauzi.

The night ended in chaos. Two people died, including Mr Fauzi’s relative Ahmad and another die-hard Persib fan.

They are among 78 people who have died in football-related accidents in Indonesia in the last 28 years, the special staff of the minister of youth and sports Gatot Dewa Broto told CNA.

The tragedy in Bandung has again put the safety of football fans in the country under the spotlight.

Since 2019, there have been no football-related deaths in Indonesia, as the matches were held without spectators amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

But as most COVID-19 restrictions have now been lifted and football matches are able to be held with spectators for the first time in more than two years, there are