Indonesia football stadium tragedy: Match official jailed 18 months over stampede

The match official, Abdul Haris was found guilty “due to his negligence causing people to die,” said the judge at the court in Surabaya.

An aerial view of the Kanjuruhan stadium in Malang where 131 people died in one of the deadliest disasters in Indonesian football history. | Photo Credit: AFP

An Indonesian court sentenced a match official to one and a half years in prison on Thursday after finding him guilty of negligence over one of the world’s deadliest stadium stampedes.

The October 2022 derby match in Malang, East Java, between Arema FC and Persebaya Surabaya ended in chaos with 135 spectators killed, many crushed as they fled for exits after police fired tear gas into the crowd.

The match official, Abdul Haris was found guilty “due to his negligence causing people to die,” said the judge at the court in Surabaya.

The legal team for the defendant did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

An investigation by Indonesia’s human rights commission found the main cause of the stampede was police firing into the crowd 45 rounds of tear gas, which football’s world governing body FIFA has banned as a crowd control measure.

Another match official is set to hear his verdict later on Thursday, while three police officers are also charged with the same offences and their cases will be decided at a later date.