Jakarta Casual

According to Save Our Soccer, a football action group in Indonesia, 51 fans have died either going to or watching football over a 21 year period. 51 fans have gone to see their favourite team never to return home alive. As statistics go that is fairly damning. While politicians and military types vie for votes ahead of the much delayed PSSI elections nothing is said about the death of young Indonesians.

Just last weekend a Persib fan was attacked and beaten to death as he was leaving the stadium in Cikarang after seeing his team defeat Gresik United. As the above chart shows he is the fourth Persib fan to die over the period.

6 fans were trampled to death including two at the SEA Games Final in 2011
7 fans fell from trains or buses. It is an all too common sight to see fans riding the roof of trains or buses and nothing seems to be done to stop them.
12 fans were stabbed
1 fan was shot

Some fans were killed after fighting between rival groups who supported the same team. Five were killed at the same game!

These numbers are shocking. A disgrace. Yet people grow immune to them. It happens so often.

What is being done about it? Nothing. PSSI candidates are spouting meaningless platitudes, Alfred Riedl is being given nonsensical targets ahead of the ASEAN Football Federation Championships next month. Words are cheap and all we get are words.

One of the attractions for me of Indonesian football is the similarities between what we see now and what I grew up enjoying in England. Unfortunately the violence is another similarity but one we could do without. In England you pretty much could tell where something might kick off and while bystanders may have taken the odd slap, as I did, they were not the target. Firms would target rival firms to get their jollies and they grew quite sophisticated how they went about it.

Fans would try to take another team's end, railway stations were likely venues for a toe to toe. Violence was organised, fans would meet up, go for a beer and hope for a row. Things are a bit different in Indonesia. Fans can travel around the country in relative safety, PS TNI v Persija not withstanding, as the fans themselves do the organising and coordination with various forms of transport, security official etc. Where there is a risk of serious disorder away fans will usually stay home or travel incognito in small numbers. At the other extreme league officials do their best to ensure clubs with especially fierce rivalry are placed in different groups. This is what happens in Central Java, including Yogyakarta, for example or with the Tangerang duo of Persita and Persikota.

Indonesian violence is less organised, more spontaneous. The latest fatality was attacked by a mob was he was heading home from the stadium. A Persija fan was attacked near a top hotel on the way to the stadium. And while there was a feeling in England back in the day that once a guy was down and done it was over, move on, in Indonesia a mob frenzy takes over and when someone is down they become fair game for others who may not want to start a row but don't mind getting involved when the odds are on their side and they won't get hurt.

The dynamics and demographics of Indonesian football fans means an English style approach, ie club membership schemes, will not necessarily work. All Indonesians already carry an identity card. In theory they could be used as a mechanism for controlling movements where there is a risk of violence but while the idea of a firm may be evolving they are not necessarily the ones who carry out the excesses and as we have seen with the fatality last weekend the attackers probably weren't even at the game.

Match day is too haphazard, too messy for any kind of serious crowd control. Police and security officials are out in large numbers and maintain a visible presence inside and immediately outside the stadium but the approaches to and from the stadium are often seen as a problem of traffic rather than potential sites for violence. If something kicks off it can take a while before any security officials can get to the scene as the video shows.

Without wishing to sound too gloomy it is difficult to see anything changing in the near future unless there is a cultural shift. Indonesia faces other troubles, maritime issues, extremism, haze, developing infrastructure; sitting back and saying the government must do something is an argument on a par with the old 'it is what it is'. Nothing more than an absolution of responsibility. Fans, clubs, security and government have roles to play in making the football watching experience less fraught with danger and if we all do nothing then nothing will change.

*The chart above and the table below come from Save Our Soccer, an Indonesian football action group.

No	Nama	Waktu	Pertandingan	Keterangan
01	Suhermansyah (Bonek)	28-01-1995	PSIM vs Persebaya	Terhimpit dan jatuh
02	Tiga Bonek	1996	Tour Jakarta	Jatuh dari kereta api
03	Sembilan Suporter PSIS	1999	Tour Jakarta	Terlindas kereta api di Lenteng Agung
04	Imam Iswanto, 17 (Panser Biru)	27-05-2001	Persija vs PSIS	Pengeroyokan di Stasiun Manggarai, Jakarta
05	Tri Sadono  (Pasoepati)	24-04-2002	Persijatim vs Persema	Terlindas truk
06	Beri Mardias (Semen Padang)	22-05-2002	Persija vs Semen Padang (10 Besar LI)	Dikeroyok
07	Subari	23-12-2002	Indonesia vs Filipina	Jatuh dari bus
08	Rahmat Hidayat (Bonek)	27-07-2003	Persela vs Persebaya	Terlindas truk
09	Dimas Aditya (Bonek)	14-12-2003	Persija vs Persebaya (PialaEmas Bang Yos)	Pukulan benda keras
10	Ahmad “Mat Togel” Dani  (Aremania)	11-04-2005	Persekabpas vs Arema	Pukulan benda keras
11	Fajar Widya Nugraha (Aremania)	13-07-2005	Arema vs Persija	Terhimpit penonton
12	Fathurrahman (The Jakmania)	25-09-2005	Persija vsPersipura	Dikeroyok
13	Makarius Puji Sulistyo (Panser Biru)	10-12-2005	Perjalanan ke Jakarta mendukung PSIS di Piala Bang Yos	Jatuh dari kereta api di Batang
14	Mince (Persipuramania)	26-02-2006	Persipura vs Persiwa	Diinjak-injak
15	Fathul Mulyadin (The Jakmania)	06-02-2008	Persija vs Persipura	Dikeroyok
16	Dian Rusdiana, 16 tahun, (NJ Mania)	20-09-2008	Persitara Vs Pelita Jaya	Ditusuk senjata tajam
17	Fauzan, 19 (Persikmania)	09-02-2010	Persik vs Persib	Terinjak-injak
18	Handoyo, 24 tahun (Panser Biru, PSIS)	17-01-2011	Gresik United vs PSIS	Terjatuh dari kereta api
19	Muhammad Tommy, 17 (Viola, Persita)	19-04-2011	Bentrokan suporter Tangerang: Persita – Persikota	Dipukul rantai besi, kayu, dan batu
20	Ahmad Hariri, 15 (Viola, Persita)	19-04-2011	Bentrokan suporter Tangerang: Persita – Persikota	Dipukul rantai besi, kayu, dan batu
21	M. Aziz, 12 tahun, (Pelita Jaya)	25-04-2011	Pelita Jaya vs Arema	Bacokan samurai
22	Gilang, 24 tahun (LA Mania)	22-05-2011	Insiden di Kereta Api dengan Bonekmania	Tusukan di leher kiri
23	Reno Alvino Arena, 21	21-11-2011	Final Sea Games	Terinjak-injak
24	Kusmanto, 29	21-11-2011	Final Sea Games	Terinjak-injak
25	Kunto, 30 (Bonek)	12-12-2011	Kisruh Deltamania dan Bobotoh Deltras vs Persib	Pukulan benda keras
26	Ovick Arangga, 19 tahun (SNEX Semarang)	14-01-2012	SNEX vs Panser Biru	Ditusuk senjata tajam
27	M. Nurul Huda, 16 (Maiden Brajamusti PSIM)	12-03-2012	Bentrok antar suporter PSIM	Empat luka tusuk bagian dada
28	Sudarmadji, 27 tahun	10-04-2012	Persibo vs Persebaya	Luka lemparan batu di Kereta diserang suporter Persela
29	Miftahul Huda, 15 tahun (Bonek)	10-04-2012	Persibo vs Persebaya	Luka lemparan batu di Kereta diserang suporter Persela
30	Abdul Farid, 15 (Bonek)	10-04-2012	Persibo vs Persebaya	Luka lemparan batu di Kereta diserang suporter Persela
31	Soimul Fadli, 15 tahun (Bonek)	10-04-2012	Persibo vs Persebaya	Luka lemparan batu di Kereta diserang suporter Persela
32	No Name (Bonek)	10-04-2012	Persibo vs Persebaya	Luka lemparan batu di Kereta diserang suporter Persela
33	Rangga Cipta Nugraha, 22 tahun, (Bobotoh)	27-05-2012	Persija vs Persib	Tusukan senjata tajam
34	Lazuardi, 29 tahun (Bobotoh)	27-05-2012	Persija Vs Persib	Pengeroyokan
35	Dani Maulana, 17 tahun (Bobotoh)	27-05-2012	Persija Vs Persib	Pengeroyokan
36	Purwo Adi Utomo	03-06-2012	Persebaya 27 vs Persija	Gas air mata dan terinjak
37	M. Ikhwanuddin (Lanus/PSCS)	12-10-2012	Perjalanan pulang usai Persis Solo vs PSCS	Tusukan benda tajam suporter Sleman
38	Erik Setiawan, 17 (Bonek Gresik)	08-03-2013	Bentrok suporter di luar  lapangan	Dikeroyok rombongan Aremania
39	Tegar, 15 (PSPS)	11-03-2013	PSPS Vs Persepam Bentrok sesama suporter PSPS	Luka pukulan benda tajam di kepala
40	Wisnu, 16 (Macz Man, PSM)	07-09-2013	PSM vs Persepar	Ditikam senjata tajam
41	Jupita (Paserbumi)	12-02-2014	Bentrok antar suporter Persiba Bantul saat menjamu Persiram Raja Ampat	Pendarahan di otak
42	Andika (Singamania)	18-02-2014	Sriwijaya vs Persijap	Ditusuk benda tajam
43	Joko Riyanto (Pasoepati)	22-10-2014	Persis vs Martapura	Kerusuhan. Tembakan di bagian dada.
44	Khoirul Anam, 21 (Aremania)	06-06-2014	Bentrok Aremania dan Bonek di Tol Simo	Pengeroyokan
45	Udin Zaenal, 32 tahun (Aremania)	06-06-2014	Bentrok Aremania dan Bonek di Tol Simo	Pengeroyokan
46	Ahmad Fadila, 28 tahun (Aremania)	06-06-2014	Bentrok Aremania dan Bonek di Tol Simo	Pengeroyokan
47	Eko Prasetyo (Aremania)	19-12-2015	Piala Jenderal Sudirman	Dipukul batu
48	Slamet (Aremania)	19-12-2015	Piala Jenderal Sudirman	Dikeroyok
49	M. Fahreza, 16 (The Jakmania)	13-05-2016	Persija vs Persela	Pengeroyokan
50	Stanislaus Gandhang Deswara, 16, (BCS, PSS Sleman)	22-05-2016	Bentrok dengan suporter PSIM yang baru kembali dari Semarang	Luka bacok di kepala dan tusuk di badan
51	Muhammad Rovi Arrahman alias Omen, 17 (Bobotoh)	23-10-2016	Persib vs Persegres Gresik United (Stadion Wibawa Mukti)	Pengeroyokan