Global Courant 2023-04-11 22:39:42
JAKARTA – The rematch of an Indonesian football match that ended last year in one of the worst stadium storms in the world was played without spectators on Tuesday.
Fierce rivals Persebaya and Arema FC last met in October 2022 when the match ended in a heartbreak killing 135 people.
Many died as they fled to the exit after police fired tear gas into the crowd – a control measure banned by the governing body of world football’s governing body FIFA.
“The match is without spectators, as per the police permit,” Persebaya said on his Instagram account.
Persebaya, seventh in the top league of Liga 1, won 1-0 after Muhammad Iqbal scored in the 79th minute. Eleventh seeded Arema missed a penalty in the 97th.
A Reuters photographer at the stadium said only a few media and club officials plus security guards sat on the benches watching the match.
Hundreds of police officers stood guard outside the stadium, some with tear gas.
The stadium is located near the headquarters of the National Police of Indonesia and is surrounded by the police academy.
