Indonesia task force wants FA chief to resign over stadium disaster

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).

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 Oct 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.

"Technically, the government cannot intervene in PSSI, but in a country based on morals, ethics and great culture, it is recommended the PSSI head and all the executive committee members resign as the form of responsibility," the report, handed to President Joko Widodo, said, referring to the football association by its Indonesian acronym.

The 124-page report was released after Indonesia's chief security minister Mahfud MD held a press conference saying that the association should take responsibility for the disaster.

Rights groups and survivors told AFP that the police used excessive force in responding to a pitch invasion while experts on Indonesian football said the country's most popular sport had been poorly managed by officials at all levels for decades.

Mahfud said that the incident was more harrowing than previously known, based on closed-circuit television footage from 32 cameras reviewed by the team.

"We discovered the fact that the situation - where many victims were falling - was far more terrifying than what was seen on TV or social media," he said on Friday after meeting Widodo.

In response to the disaster, Widodo suspended all football matches until