“Football is football. You can win, you can lose, you can draw. What must not be lost are human lives,” says football coach Javier Roca.
After Tragedy at a soccer stadium in Indonesia the Arema Malang coach reported shocking pictures in the dressing room. “When I went back to the dressing room there was already chaos,” said Javier Roca. Many people had difficulty breathing. A fan died in the arms of a player. “The players are devastated,” said Roca.
“You witnessed the first death in the dressing room. Then the second, the third, the fourth.” Some of the victims they saw were children who mightn’t breathe. He only realized something was wrong following the press conference when his eyes and throat felt sore from the tear gas. In the dressing room, he then saw that seriously injured fans had been taken to treatment where players had tried to help them.
At least 125 people were killed in the stampede on the island of Java at Kanjuruhan Stadium on Saturday evening following the game between Arema Malang and Persebaya, and around 300 others were seriously injured, some of them seriously. Authorities say 17 children are among the dead. After the game, riots broke out, whereupon the police used tear gas. Complete chaos broke out, with people fleeing in all directions. Malang City Police Chief Ferli Hidayat has since been relieved of his post.
“Football is football. You can win, you can lose, you can draw. What cannot be lost are human lives,” said Roca.
(APA/DPA)