Football is one of the most popular sports in Indonesia. But this intense passion has so far lead to eight deaths in this year at football matches. Lack of security and hooligan riots has lead to the beautiful game becoming dangerous and bloody in Indonesia.
It was the evening before Eid al-Adha when Haikal and his two cousins Taufik and Catur Juliantono went to Patriot Candrabhaga stadium in Bekasi to see a friendly match between the Indonesian national football team and Fiji.
It was the first time 13-year-old Haikal saw a professional football match live. They arrived without a ticket because they believed there would be scalpers by the gate. They got lucky and grabbed some tickets before heading to the stands.
Most of the match went by without major problems, after all, it was just a friendly. Towards the end of the match, suddenly from the south end, a flare shot out at them the young fans. The flare went above Haikal's head and smashed Catur's face, he was knocked unconscious.
"The firecrackers went above my head, I was shocked and apparently it hit Catur. People were running all over the place, but Indonesian supporters immediately helped Catur by pouring water onto his head," 13 year-old Haikal told local media.
Catur died on his way to the hospital.
This was the eight death this year at football matches across Indonesia. The last death was in July, when Ricko Andrean died in a riot during a match between Persib Bandung and Persija Jakarta in July. Ricko died in the arms of his friends.
Save Our Soccer (SOS) is a football safety NGO, they recorded 51 football-related deaths from 1995 to 2016. Thirteen victims died due to riots, 12 victims of stabbing, and 11 of blunt force trauma. The rest died of other reasons. Must of the data is based off of officially reported incidents, and since many deaths go unreported, the number could be much higher.
SOS coordinator Akmal Marhali told Rappler that it's time for Indonesia to release regulations that protect supporters and take inspiration from the Football Spectator Act (FSA) in England, which tamed the famously violent English hooligans of the 1980s.
But just like Hillsborough disaster that killed 96 people and saw most of the blame befall the fans only for them to be exonerated years later, much of the blame for football deaths has to do with policing and match management according to experts.
"Poor procedure and management of these matches is the main issue," said Fajar Junaedi, an expert on Surabaya's Bondo Nekat (Bonek)—a nickname for Surabaya's well-known football supporters. "Both organizers and security don't seem to obey the regulations. This has been an issue for a while."
Fajar said that weapons checks and the screening of banned items is almost nonexistent at Indonesian football stadiums. "There's a regulation that bans anyone from carrying firecrackers or flares. But in reality there's no discipline. The security would rather watch the game than maintaining order."
In response to this, Gatot Widakdo, the head of media relations and digital promotion at Football Association of Indonesia—or locally known as PSSI—claimed that they've implemented security measures in line with the standards of FIFA and Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
"Two weeks before a game, we hold a brief meeting with internal securty and the police. We're implementing multiple, layered security at matches. However, it's hard to maintain order and control thoroughly all the time. There's always a crack here and there," said Gatot.In order to prevent casualties among supporters, PSSI will sign a memorandum of understanding with the police to help increase supervision.
"The parameter is easy. If watching a live football game is child-friendly, then it will also be family-friendly. But the fact is our live games are still far from ideal. Racist and provocative chants and shouts are still often heard during games," said Fajar.
However, he thinks that fanaticism and football is like day and night—they're inseparable.
"Fanaticism is only the second reason why watching a live football game is not popular among families," said Fajar. "The first reason is the awful match management." According to Fajar, fanaticism in football has been turned into a scapegoat to cover up the poor management of the game."In Indonesia, a small conflict escalates and lasts for generations. In Spain, Catalan separatism and civil war conflict should've started a clash between Barcelona and Real Madrid supporters. But it didn't. The rivalry only stays on the field when a match is managed properly," said Fajar.
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