The loss of at least 125 lives at an Indonesian soccer match has exposed anew the nation's troubled history with the sport
by the Associated Press, at least 78 soccer supporters died in Indonesia between 1995 and Saturday’s tragedy at Kanjuruhan Stadium in East Java.
Many more have been hurt. The latest disaster, which took place at a match between soccer clubs Arema FC and Persebaya Surabaya, alone left some 300 people injured. Indonesia was the first Asian country to join the World Cup, taking part in the 1938 games in France as the Dutch East Indies. Since then, soccer has become the nation’s most popular sport. As many as 52 million Indonesians watch weekend games, ReutersPolice officers and soldiers stand amid tear gas smoke after clashes between fans during a soccer match at Kanjuruhan Stadium in Malang, East Java, Indonesia, Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022.
Supporters are sometimes banned from traveling to away games. Arema FC and Persebaya Surabaya came to an agreement in 1988 prohibiting opposing supporters from visiting each other’s home stadiums., exists between the Persija Jakarta and Persib Bandung clubs. Clashes between their supporters have turned deadly: a mob of Persib Bandung fans killed a Persija Jakarta supporter in 2018.
It’s not only domestic games that have been marred by violence. In a 2019 qualifying match for the 2022 World Cup, supporters of Indonesia’s national team threw projectiles at