Indonesia to demolish football stadium where stampede killed more than 130 people

We explain how the Indonesia tragedy happened 2:42 (Reuters) — Indonesia will demolish and rebuild a soccer stadium where a stampede killed more than 130 people days ago, President Joko Widodo said on Tuesday, vowing to “completely transform “Sport in the soccer-mad nation. The president, popularly known as Jokowi, was speaking to reporters at the state palace after meeting with Gianni Infantino, president of world soccer’s governing body FIFA. “The Kanjuruhan Stadium in Malang… we will demolish it and rebuild it according to FIFA standards,” he said. A government-formed investigative team published a report last week that concluded “excessive” and “indiscriminate” use of tear gas was the main cause of death. The deadly stampede after a league match in the city of Malang on Oct. 1 was blamed on police firing tear gas into the stadium, a crowd control measure banned by FIFA. The president said that he had agreed with Infantino on significant changes in the way sport is run in Indonesia. “We agreed to completely transform Indonesian football,” he said. “Every aspect of the preparation…must be based on FIFA standards.” More than 130 people died in the deadly stampede earlier this month. The meeting between Jokowi and Infantino comes after Indonesia and FIFA agreed to form a joint working group following the stadium tragedy and as the country prepares to host the U-20 World Cup next year. Speaking alongside Jokowi, Infantino said FIFA’s first priority was to ensure the safety of both players and fans in the Southeast Asian nation. “This is a soccer country, a country where soccer is a passion for more than 100 million people,” he said. “We owe them that when they watch a game they are safe and secure.” Infantino, who presented the president with a red FIFA jersey with his name printed on it, said soccer’s world body would work closely with the government to ensure that all stadiums meet safety requirements and that the next World Cup U-20 went smoothly next year. The stadium tragedy Under pressure to explain what caused one of the world’s deadliest stadium disasters, a government-formed research team published a report last week that concluded that the “excessive” and “indiscriminate” use of Tear gas was the main cause of death. As fans tried to leave the stadium after home team Arema FC’s loss to Persebaya Surabaya, they were caught in a deadly crush. Many, including more than 40 minors, died of suffocation. The report also identified other contributing factors, including the stadium being filled beyond capacity, locked exit gates and pressure from league officials to hold the game at night to ensure better performance. ratings for a local broadcaster, despite a request from the police to hold the game, a match between fierce rivals during the day. The investigation team also said that more than three hours of CCTV footage had been deleted about an hour after the match. The team has requested that the police provide this video. The team also called for the resignation of the president of the Indonesian Football Association.