Kanjuruhan Stadium disaster

On 1 October 2022, a fatal human crush occurred following an association football match at Kanjuruhan Stadium in Malang Regency, East Java, Indonesia. Following a loss by home side Arema to their rivals Persebaya Surabaya, around 3,000 Arema supporters invaded the pitch. Police said that the rioting supporters attacked the players and the team officials. The police attempted to protect the players and stop the riot, but the crowds clashed with security forces. In response, riot police units deployed tear gas, which triggered a stampede of people in the stadium trying to escape the gas. A crush formed at one exit, resulting in fans being asphyxiated.
As of 24 October, 2022, 135 people had lost their lives, and 583 others were injured as a result of the accident. The disaster is the second deadliest in the history of association football worldwide, after the 1964 Estadio Nacional disaster in Peru which killed 328 people. It is also the second deadliest crowd crush of 2022 behind a crowd crush in Seoul on 29th of October that killed 159. It is therefore also the deadliest football-related disaster in both Asia and the Eastern Hemisphere.
On 6 October 2022, Indonesian police chief Police-General Listyo Sigit Prabowo announced that six different individuals and groups had been placed under suspicion: the director of the match organizer PT Liga Indonesia Baru (LIB), the Arema head of security officer, the members of the Arema match organizing committee for negligence, and three police officers for the use of tear gas.
On 16 January 2023, almost three months after the disaster, the first trial over events related to the Kanjuruhan disaster was held in Surabaya, East Java.
Football hooliganism has had a long history in Indonesia, with at least 95 football-related deaths between 2005 and 2018. Several teams' fan clubs have so-called "commanders", and riot police units are present at many matches, with flares often being used to disperse rioting crowds invading the pitch. In 2018, riots at Kanjuruhan following a match between Malang's Arema and Persib Bandung resulted in a fatality after riot police employed tear gas to disperse crowds.
Although FIFA regulation 19b states that tear gas should not be used in stadiums by pitchside stewards or police, Indonesian police riot units do make use of it to secure football matches. FIFA regulations are optional when an association or confederation arranges an event under its own competition regulations. The FIFA regulations therefore only serve as guidelines in those cases.
Arema and Persebaya Surabaya, longstanding rival clubs at the Super East Java Derby, were scheduled to play a Liga 1 regular season match at Malang's 42,000-capacity Kanjuruhan Stadium on 1 October. Due to security concerns, police had requested that the match be held earlier in the afternoon at 15:30 WIB (08:30 UTC) instead of at 20:00 (13:00 UTC), and that only 38,000 people be allowed in the stadium. However, that request was not met by Liga 1 officials and match organisers, and 42,000 tickets were printed. Nevertheless, following police advice, Persebaya supporters – known as Bonek – received no tickets to the match.
The Malang Police Chief had held a phone conversation with the Director of Operations of LIB, Sujarno, who said the match still had to be held at night.
Throughout the match itself, the security situation was smooth and without major incidents. Following the end of the match, in which Persebaya defeated Arema 3–2 – Persebaya's first ever win away at Arema – four spectators from stands 9 and 10 entered the field to provide encouragement to Arema players after their defeat. According to a witness, they were chased by the police, who pulled off their shirts and beat them; this triggered other supporters to enter the field area.
Approximately 3,000 supporters of Arema, nicknamed Aremania, invaded the pitch. The first group of spectators to invade the pitch came from stand 12. They scattered around, looking for their team's players and officials, and demanding their explanation of the defeat "after 23 years of undefeated home matches" against its rival Persebaya.
Security officials and police tried to divert more Aremania away from the pitch, but to no avail, forcing the Indonesian Army (TNI-AD) and Mobile Brigade Corps' Anti Riot Unit (PHH) to be called in to assist with the dispersal of the angry supporters. Aremania then proceeded to throw objects, damage police vehicles and start fires in the stadium, forcing Persebaya's players to rush for cover inside locker rooms, and subsequently be kept in police armoured personnel carriers for an hour before they could leave the stadium.
After failed "preventive measures", the police began using tear gas in an attempt to disperse the rioters on the pitch. Initially, the police fired tear gas towards stand 12, followed by stands 10, 11, and 14, and finally the south and north stands. This affected both the Aremania invading the pitch and other people there, causing Aremania in the south stand to run for the single exit point (gates 12–14) to avoid the tear gas. All gates were locked except gate 14, with most victims later found at gates 13 and 14, resulting in a crowd crush and the asphyxiation of many people. Tear gas was also deployed outside the stadium. Listyo claimed a total of 11 shots of tear gas were fired (7 to the south, 1 to the north and 3 onto the pitch), while The Washington Post reported that police fired at least 40 rounds of tear gas at the crowd within 10 minutes. The police said that ten police vehicles and three private vehicles were destroyed by the Aremania.
In the immediate aftermath of the riot, the players' lobby and changing rooms were used as makeshift evacuation posts, with Arema players and officials helping to evacuate victims still in the stadium. The victims were taken to hospitals by ambulances and Indonesian Army trucks. Many died on the way to or during treatment.
On 5 October 2022, the Indonesian National Police confirmed 131 deaths from this disaster. This echoed the previous report of 131 deaths from the Malang Regency Office of Health. Meanwhile, 133 deaths were reported by the Postmortem Crisis Center Post, established by the government of Malang Regency. Aremania disputed the official numbers, alleging that more than 200 people may have perished, as the bodies of some of those who died were immediately returned to their families instead of being transported to hospital. Thirty-nine children aged 3 to 17 are also included in the death toll. The number was expected to increase as some of the treated victims were "deteriorating". As of 18 October 2022, the reported number of casualties was 583 injured and 133 killed. The 135th victim died on 24 October 2022.
The municipal government of Malang paid for the medical treatment of the victims. Kepanjen Regional Hospital and Wava Hospital were reported to be full of disaster victims, leading to some being sent to other hospitals around the city.
The governor of East Java, Khofifah Indar Parawansa, announced that the government of East Java would provide financial compensation to the victims' families. Each next-of-kin of the deceased would receive Rp 10 million (USD 699), while the wounded victims would receive Rp 5 million (USD 349) each. On 4 October 2022, Widodo announced the provision of additional financial compensation in the amount of Rp 50 million (USD 3495) from the central government to each deceased's next-of-kin.
The disaster is the second deadliest in the history of association football worldwide, after the 1964 Estadio Nacional disaster in Peru, which killed 328 people.
Of those who died, 38 were aged under 17. The youngest who died was 3 years old and the oldest was 45 years old.
As a result of the incident, President Joko Widodo later instructed the association to suspend all Liga 1 matches until a full "evaluation of improvement of security procedures" had been carried out, and this was followed by a joint fact-finding team deciding that all football leagues matches (Liga 1, Liga 2 and Liga 3) were temporarily suspended until the President said it could be normalised. The Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) apologised for the incident and announced a ban on home matches for Arema for the rest of the season. PSSI also stated that the decision by PT Liga Indonesia Baru, the organiser, to hold the match had been agreed to by other stakeholders of Indonesian football. In addition, Widodo also ordered all Liga 1, 2 and 3 stadiums to be fully audited by Minister of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) Basuki Hadimuljono.
On 3 October 2022, two days after the incident, the Head of Indonesian police Listyo Sigit Prabowo removed the Head of Police of Malang, Police Adjunct Chief Commissioner Ferli Hidayat, from his duties. Nine officers from East Java Mobile Brigade Corps were also removed.
Also on 3 October 2022, PSSI announced that the 2023 AFC U-17 Asian Cup qualification group B matches, which was held in Indonesia, would be played behind closed doors starting that night.
On 4 October 2022, a police officer was held in custody for 21 days for making defamatory tweets about the incident using the official Twitter account of Bantul's Srandakan police in the Special Region of Yogyakarta. He responded to criticism of the police with "Die!", "Who are you defending?" and "I salute the soldiers! Exterminate!".
After the incident, a video showing Indonesian soldiers beating and kicking Arema supporters surfaced. Commander of the Indonesian National Armed Forces Andika Perkasa promised that the act would not be considered self-defence, and the soldiers involved would be charged under criminal law.
After his meeting with FIFA President Gianni Infantino on 18 October 2022, Widodo issued orders to deactivate Kanjuruhan Stadium, demolish it and rebuild it according to FIFA standards.
On 5 December 2022, the imposed suspension of Liga 1 was lifted and competition resumed, with all remaining matches of the Liga 1 2022–23 first round (game weeks 12 until 17) being held behind closed doors.
On 21 January 2025, Kanjuruhan Stadium rebuilding process is completed. The rebuilding process costing Rp 350 billion, making the new Kanjuruhan Stadium the most expensive stadium ever built in Indonesia. Minister of Public Works Dody Hanggodo expected the stadium to be strong enough for 30–40 years.
Following the incident, there were calls from the Institute for Security and Strategic Studies (ISESS), an Indonesian defence and security think tank, and the Indonesian Police Watch (IPW) to dismiss the Malang police chief, Adjunct Chief Commissioner Ferli Hidayat. ISESS also demanded the dismissal of the East Java police chief Inspector General Nico Afinta, while IPW requested Afinta to bring the organisers of the match to trial.
The PSSI Disciplinary Commission imposed a lifetime ban on football activities on the chairman of the Arema match organising committee, Abdul Haris, and the Arema head of security officer, Suko Sutrisno. In addition, Arema was subjected to a Rp 250 million (US$16,000) fine, and prohibited from holding home matches with spectators. Matches were to be played far from the Malang home base, up to 250 km (155.34 mi) from the location.
The National Commission on Human Rights of Indonesia (KOMNAS HAM) announced plans to investigate the incident and the use of tear gas by police. Although FIFA's rules say that tear gas should not be used inside stadiums, the chief of regional police defended its use, citing the threats posed by the rioters to players and officials. However, the police also stated that they would evaluate the use of tear gas. Investigators are also examining the role of 18 police officers who operated the tear gas launcher. On 12 October 2022, KOMNAS HAM published their findings. On 14 October 2022, Narasi, an Indonesian independent news office, released a visual investigation detailing how the disaster unfolded, and highlighting the over-zealous use of tear gas. The account was compiled by Narasi from more than 80 amateur video recordings.
Police investigated CCTV footage from six of the gates at the Kanjuruhan Stadium on 4 October. Gates 3 and 9 to 13 received special attention because the results of a preliminary analysis indicated that most of the victims were at those gates.
On 6 October 2022, Head of Indonesian police Listyo Sigit Prabowo announced six accused. Ahmad Hadi Lukita, the director of PT Liga Indonesia Baru, was charged for his negligence of stadium verification. Abdul Haris, Arema match organising committee chairman, was charged for not fulfilling the obligation of creating a set of safety rules or guidelines for spectators, as well as allowing ticket sales above stadium capacity. Suko Sutrisno, Arema head of security officer, was charged for not creating risk assessment document, and ordering gate stewards to leave stadium gates in the wake of the disaster. Three police officers were also charged: Wahyu Setyo Pranoto, Chief of Operations of Malang Regency Police; Hasdarman, Commander of 3rd Mobile Brigade Company of East Java Police, and Bambang Sidik Achmadi, Head of Prevention Unit of Malang Regency Police. Wahyu was charged for not prohibiting the use of tear gas, despite being aware of its prohibition by FIFA regulations, while Hasdarman and Achmadi were charged for ordering the use of tear gas by their subordinates. They were charged under Articles 359 and 360 of the Indonesian Criminal Code, as well as Article 103 juncto Article 52 of Indonesian Law No. 11/2022 on Sports.
On 10 October 2022, police admitted using expired tear gas. The fact-finding team submitted tear gas samples to National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) to analyze tear gas used by police to find possible toxins or other compounds in the tear gas, to determine the compounds causing injury or death of the victims. The tear gas samples originated from three separate Police stockpiles, from Brimob, Samapta Corps, and Malang Regency Police. Due to expired tear gas issue, the parents of two victims who died in the tragedy submitted a request for a re-autopsy on the bodies of their daughters, the father questioning the cause of the death of his two daughters.
On 15 November 2022, The East Java Police called Dr. Harun, a doctor from Wava Husada Hospital, Kepanjen, to present evidence against the suspects for violating the Indonesian Criminal Code articles 359 and 360, which deal with causing someone to suffer a serious injury or death caused by negligence, as well as Article 103 Paragraph 1 in conjunction with Article 52 Indonesian Law number 11/2022 on sports, which the charges were announced on 6 October. Until 15 November 2022, eleven doctors had already been questioned by the police.
On 3 October 2022, a joint independent fact-finding team, headed by the Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Mahfud MD and Minister of Youth and Sports Zainudin Amali, was formed. No members of the Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI) joined the fact-finding team.
On 14 October 2022, the fact-finding team submitted a 124-page final report on the investigation to the president. While the full report was classified, a summary and excerpt of the report was made available. The report put blames six parties involved in the incident: PSSI, LIB, match organizing committee, match security officers, the Police and Indonesian Army, and Arema supporters. From the involved parties, PSSI was blamed by the fact-finding team as major cause of the incident. The fact-finding team assessed that there were eight occurrences of PSSI misconduct, and that the PSSI chairman and executive committee members should resign over the Kanjuruhan disaster. On the other hand, PSSI refused to do the joint fact-finding team recommendation for PSSI to reshuffle the management through the Extraordinary Congress (KLB). PSSI claimed those were recommendations only. On 28 October 2022, PSSI executive commissioners announced that they would hold an extraordinary congress, after club representatives and members of PSSI invoked Article 34 of the PSSI Statute.
At the time of the fact-finding team announced the final report, BRIN had not yet finished analysis of the tear gas samples and was still assessing the toxicity and performing complete toxin profiling. Nonetheless, the BRIN report produced and later submitted as addendum of the fact-finding team's final report, the fact-finding team insisting that the high concentration of the tear gas was the main cause of the injury and death. On 21 October 2022, the tear gas laboratory analysis results were submitted to TGIPF by BRIN. However, TGIPF through Mahfud MD was hesitant to publish the findings to public. According to Mahfud, TGIPF came to the conclusion that the root cause of the panic that resulted in the deaths of hundreds of people was tear gas. Due to delays in the report's release, Aremania held a protest on 27 October 2022 demanded many things including the release of the BRIN report. On 15 November 2022, TGIPF released a statement that the BRIN report was reserved for investigative and prosecutorial purposes. The report was also submitted for the case submission; thus, the release of the report to the public is unlikely.
The fact-finding team also found CCTV footage at Kanjuruhan Stadium which was thought to be deleted, indicating a possible cover-up attempt. The footage came from the main lobby and parking area with a duration of 3 hours 21 minutes.
On 5 November 2022, an independent team from the Indonesian Forensic Doctors Association performed autopsies on the bodies of two disaster victims after they were postponed. The victim's family said that the police had intimidated them. The exhumation of two females, aged 16 and 13, took place at the Sukolilo, Wajak public cemetery.
On 30 November 2022, Indonesian Forensic Doctors Association announced the conclusion of the autopsies in Airlangga University. They stated that the victims' lungs did not contain any tear gas residue. Instead, the two victims' deaths were due to bleeding and fractures of the rib and chest. They also stated that the corpse had decomposed when they took the samples. The victim's lawyer claims that when the victims were found in the disaster, they had blackened faces, foam flowing from their mouths, and were dripping urine.
The first trial of the disaster was held on 16 January 2023. All the trial procedures were held in Surabaya, East Java, including the reconstruction, which was held on 19 October 2022. The trial was led by judge Abu Achmad Sidqi Amsya. It was held behind closed doors and was not livestreamed, although the media crews were able to enter the courtroom, which was under security procedure.
The trial, initially, was to be held in Malang, in accordance with the jurisdiction of the disaster. However, the Regional Leaders' Coordination Forum of Malang (Forkopimda Malang; consisting of regional leaders from Malang Raya) submitted a request to relocate the trial to Surabaya for security reasons. The Supreme Court, as a judicial body, approved the request.
During the trial of five individuals who were charged, members of Brimob attempted to disrupt the trial. Video footage circulating on social media depicted these officers, identifiable by their distinctive navy-blue berets, mocking and taunting the prosecutors as they arrived on 14 February 2023 for the ongoing trial at the Kanjuruhan Stadium in Malang.
Only six people faced prosecution for their part in the disaster, even though the government through TGIPF had promised to name more defendants as the investigation carried on. Despite the fact that independent sources (including Narasi, Antara News, and The Washington Post) reported that a large number of tear gas projectiles were discovered in the stands, a presiding judge in the court case stated that "the wind is guilty for the fatalities" in the disaster. The two police officials, Wahyu Setyo Pranoto and Bambang Sidik Achmadi, were acquitted for this reason.
On 23 August 2023, the Indonesian Supreme Court annulled the initial verdicts of the two police officers, named Wahyu Setyo Pranoto and Bambang Sidik Achmadi. They were each sentenced to two years and six months, and two years in prison.
On 31 December 2024, following the verdict from the Surabaya District Court, the responsible party was ordered to pay restitution to 71 petitioners. The court set the restitution amount at IDR 1.02 billion, a significant reduction from the initial request of IDR 17.2 billion. In response to the ruling, the petitioners announced their intention to appeal the decision. Prior to this, the victims had already received financial assistance in the form of donations from Arema FC, as well as support from the central and regional governments through the KIS program.
Commission III of the People's Representative Council's deputy chairman, Ahmad Sahroni, condemned the actions of the officers throwing tear gas at the stands, which were filled with people. According to him, the use of tear gas in stadiums is prohibited by FIFA and is not included in the standard operating procedures for securing football matches. Sahroni asked the National Police Chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo to take firm action against the officers responsible for the use of tear gas.
On 6 October 2022, Widodo sent a letter to FIFA President Gianni Infantino through Minister of State Owned Enterprises Erick Thohir. FIFA replied to the letter on 7 October 2022 as follows:
On 18 October 2022, Infantino met Widodo in Istana Merdeka. In the meeting, the Indonesian government and FIFA agreed to:
FIFA Office for Indonesia opened on 10 November 2023.
On 28 October 2022, to provide security for the organizing of sporting events after the Kanjuruhan Stadium disaster, the police issued Chief on the National Police Decree No. 10/2022. The new regulation becomes effective on 4 November 2022. In the new regulation, uses of offensive weapons such as tear gases, smoke grenades, guns in securing the sporting events are forbidden, and police will no longer permitted to carry such weapons in sporting events. As replacement, the police only authorized the use of hand-to-hand martial arts and defensive tools such as riot shields and batons for securing the sporting events. To deter any further pitch invasion events, defensive barricades will be installed in the stadium to separate the team supporters and pitch in all stadiums in Indonesia. The defensive barricades will also be erected in other designated protected areas inside and outside the stadium to ensure the safety of the team supporters, spectators, players, and officials.
Several Provincial Liga 3 (third division; regional leagues) were annulled as a result of noncompliance of National Police Decree No. 10/2022. Per 1 January 2023, East Java and Yogyakarta 2022–2023 Liga 3 season were abandoned.
Following PSSI's exco meeting which took place on 12 January 2023, the rest of 2022–23 season of Liga 2 were abandoned. In general, the requests of the clubs, inadequate infrastructure, and police permits prevented the competition from being restarted. There were three statement points announced by PSSI that led to the abandonment of the league:
The 2022–23 Liga 1 season continued without relegations because the second tier was abandoned. PSSI also forced PT Liga Indonesia Baru (leagues' operator) to establish new league operator for Liga 2.
In response of the disaster, extraordinary congress is finally invoked and scheduled to be held 16 February 2023. The extraordinary congress will replace the President of PSSI, Vice Presidents of PSSI, and PSSI Executive Committees.
In compliance with TGIPF recommendation, the President of PSSI, Mochamad Iriawan, confirmed that he will step down from PSSI leadership. He re-affirmed his decision on 15 January 2023. He said that he will no longer pursuing the bid for extending his PSSI presidency, claimed that he was "enough" and he admitted his responsibility for the disaster.