Indonesia stadium disaster: Football match officials jailed over deadly crush

Game between local rivals last year ended in tragedy after 135 fans were killed

The fatal crush was sparked as police tried to disperse fans on the pitch at Kanjuruhan Stadium, East Java. EPA

An Indonesian court sentenced two football match officials on Thursday over a stadium crush that killed 135 people in October.

Match organiser Abdul Haris was found guilty of negligence and sentenced to 18 months in prison by a panel of three judges at Surabaya District Court.

Prosecutors had sought a sentence of six years and eight months.

"I am sentencing the defendant to a year and a half in prison," presiding judge Abu Achmad Sidqi Amsya told the court in Surabaya, the capital of East Java.

Security official Suko Sutrisno was also found guilty of negligence and sentenced to one year in prison.

"The defendant did not anticipate the chaos because there has never been an emergency situation before. The defendant also did not understand his job as a security official well," the judge said.

He said neither man had verified the safety of the stadium since 2020 and “did not prepare an emergency plan”.

Both men have seven days to appeal the verdict.

It is Indonesia's first ruling on the incident, which happened when thousands of fans invaded the pitch at the match between hosts Arema FC and rivals Persebaya Surabaya at the Kanjuruhan Stadium in Kepanjen on October 1.

Police fired teargas to try to stop violence, leading to a crush of panicked fans running for exits.

It was one of the worst stadium disasters in the sport's history.

An Arema FC player he pays condolence on the pitch to victims of the soccer match riot and stampede at Kanjuruhan Stadium in Malang, East Java, Indonesia, on October 3. EPA

L-R: Mochamad Munif, Ismiatul Urmila, and Munidah, the father, sister and grandmother of Lutvia Damayanti, one of the 131 people killed in the October 1 Kanjuruhan football stadium disaster, mourn over her grave in Malang. AFP

Indonesian police continue investigation at the stadium on October 13. AFP

People pay their respects to the victims. AFP

Police carry a wreath from Indonesia's President Joko Widodo at the Kanjuruhan stadium in Malang on October 5. AFP

An aerial view of the Kanjuruhan stadium. AFP

A soldier's reaction during a mass prayer for the victims, outside Kanjuruhan Stadium on October 4. EPA

People help carry an injured spectator after a football match between Arema FC and Persebaya on October 1. AFP

Fans break into the soccer field after the match at Kanjuruhan Stadium. Reuters

Arema FC supporters enter the field after the team they support lost to Persebaya on October 2. Reuters

Spectators climb a fence by the stands amid the deadly stampede on October 1. AFP

Arema FC players and officials react as they visit Kanjuruhan Stadium. Reuters

Juventus Turin's players (L) and Maccabi Haifa's players stand on the pitch during a minute of silence, after Indonesia's stadium tragedy, prior to the start of the UEFA Champions League 1st round day 3 group H football match between, at the Juventus stadium in Turin, Italy on October 5. AFP

Three police officers have also been charged over the incident and are awaiting verdicts.

Authorities in Surabaya sent 360 police officers to secure the court for the verdict on Thursday.

The former director of the company that runs the Indonesian Premier League remains under police investigation.

Police described the pitch invasion as a "riot" and said two officers were killed, but survivors accused the police of using excessive force.

Witnesses said officers beat them with sticks and shields before shooting teargas canisters into crowds.

The match was attended only by Arema fans, as organisers had banned Persebaya supporters because of Indonesia’s history of football rivalries turning violent.

An investigation set up by Indonesian President Joko Widodo in response to a national outcry over the deaths concluded that the teargas was the main cause of the crowd surge.

It said police on duty had no knowledge that the use of teargas was prohibited at football stadiums and used it “indiscriminately” on the field, in the stands and outside, causing the more than 42,000 spectators inside the 36,000-seat stadium to rush to the exits — several of which were locked.