On October 1, Indonesia’s Kanjuruhan Stadium joined a list containing the likes of Hillsborough, Accra Sports Stadium, Ibrox, Heysel and the Estadio Nacional as a place that will forever be associated with the tragic death of football fans. At the time of writing, at least 135 supporters who saw Arema Malang lose 3-2 to Persebaya Surabaya in their league match lost their lives, a figure that includes more than 30 children. There have been plenty of problems in Indonesian football over the years, including losses of life on a semi-regular basis, but nothing like this.
There were no away fans at this East Javan derby, a local rivalry if not the fiercest in this country of 270 million, so early reports of clashes between supporters were wide of the mark. At the end of the game, a few hundred Arema fans entered the playing area in order, they said, to talk to the players – not uncommon in the country
