The Persebaya players waited inside the tactical vehicles to leave the stadium but could not move an inch. The exits of the stadium were aswarm with crowds. The Persebaya players had a one-minute celebration in the car, which was halted by a flash of flame seen not far away. Another vehicle had been set on fire. Suddenly the scene became an emergency, especially because they were still stuck in the car.
Inside the stadium, the players gathered in the middle of the field took the initiative to approach the stands. They marched slowly towards the stands, as if they wanted to apologize for the defeat.
All of a sudden, a single spectator jumped over the fence. He sprinted onto the field and approached the team. He hugged the goalkeeper and shook hands with the other players. As security officers tried to remove the excited spectator from the field, more spectators jumped over the fence and headed toward Arema. More and more people followed suit. The field was quickly flooded with people. The security forces moved into action. Video documentation shows officers harshly pushing and roughing up spectators. Some even kicked, punched and pounded them with batons.
As spectators in the stands witnessed the confusion and brutality sweeping the field, they became enraged, fueled by a feeling of solidarity. Indeed, that exemplifies the psychology of soccer spectators. They are united by a shared sentiment. They could not care less about ethnicity, religion, race, age or gender. They are one family, one tribe, one nation and one religion. No national unity can overcome soccer unity.
I once made a t-shirt with such a theme: One Homeland, One Nation, One Language: the Soccer Language.
From my point of view, that was the point when the chaotic scene went ballistic. It was no longer “Arema versus Persebaya”. Nor was it “Aremania” (a nickname for Arema’s fandom), versus Bonek. It was clearly delineated as spectators versus security officers.
Shepherding the Persebaya team into tactical vehicles had been a precise step. It would have even been better had they been able to immediately leave the premises. The next priority should have been to unblock the stadium exits – not only for the sake of the departing team but also to allow the crowds to disperse in an orderly manner. Many fans must have been desperate to get home, since it was already late. But they could not leave. They were jammed together.
Inside the stadium, no factor should have triggered further chaos. Even if local people were disappointed with the performance of the Arema team, it was a disappointment of people who loved their team. They would not harm no team player – rather like Bonek disappointment with their home team Persebaya in 2022.
The worst they could do was destroy the stadium, as enraged Bonek did two weeks previously, when Persebaya suffered a 1-2 loss against Rans United FC. Sidoarjo’s Gelora Delta Stadium suffered damage. Yet, only fences were destroyed, and these were immediately repaired by Persebaya. The total cost to put it right was only IDR 170 million. No one was injured, let alone killed.
The best move to take in in the Kanjuruhan Stadium that evening would have been: do not chase away the spectators who entered the field. Do not shout at them. Simply ask them to sit down on the grass. Ask the players and officials to sit. Let emotions cool off. It takes time for emotions to simmer down.
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There should have been no horrifying factor that night. They were one nation: the soccer nation. The opposing team had been protected and escorted out. And that was enough. Nothing would have happened to the home team – the worst humiliation would have been to be cursed at or spat on. I’ve dealt with all that, including having pee in a plastic bag thrown at me.
The tough crowd control antics of police on spectators only fueled their anger – not to mention kicking and hitting people, and firing tear gas. Such violence only served to generate panic and a subsequent stampede.
We are in grief. We are the soccer champions of tragedy.
We must recover with achievements. Even if FIFA penalizes us for five years, we must use the time to turn a corner. In the next five years, we must surprise the international world. Once we are freed from the penalty, we should show outstanding achievements to the world, or at least to Asia.