Indonesia’s love for football is the greatest in all of Asia but along with that passion comes a long list of tragedies. The disaster on Saturday in Malang, in which at least 125 fans died when they tried to escape being teargassed by police, is not only by far the worst ever in the history of the world’s fourth-most populous country but one of the worst anywhere.
Fans in Indonesia complain about the international media’s focus on negative stories from the archipelago rather than examples of a deep football culture, but anyone who has attended games in the country would attest that while it can be a thrilling experience, it is also often intimidating. That was, perhaps, why early reports suggested that there had been clashes between rival sets of supporters; it would not have been the first time. But on this occasion, there were only Arema Malang fans present as followers of Persebaya Surabaya were not allowed to attend in an attempt to reduce the potential for violence.
