A few days ago, a serious stadium riot broke out in the Indonesian football world. After the "East Java derby" between Malang Arema and Persebaya, the home team fans were dissatisfied with the team's defeat and climbed over the railing and entered the stadium, causing conflict and stampede. After cross-checking by local departments, it was determined that the incident had killed 125 people (earlier, Indonesia's official death toll was 174). Afterwards, Spain's " Marca " interviewed Malang Arema's foreign aid Abel Kamala. Looking back now, the Guinea-Bissau striker still feels lingering fear.
Kamara headed the ball
Abel Kamara, 32, has played in Portuguese football for many years. This summer, Kamara accepted the invitation of Arema chairman Harris to join the team as a free agent. In the first 10 rounds of the league, the Guinea-Bissau striker scored only 2 goals. This time he faced his mortal enemy Persebaya. He scored 2 goals in the first half, but he was still unable to save the defeat.
Kamala goal
After the game, thousands of angry Arema fans rushed into the field, asking for explanations from Arema's senior officials and trying to break into the players' locker room. After the police intervened in the conflict, the protest eventually turned into a riot.
In an interview with Marca, Abel Kamala tried to recall the entire conflict: "Before the game, there was chaos caused by the intrusion of the visiting fans (Note: tickets to the visiting fans are prohibited in this game). After the game, the visiting players were escorted by armored vehicles and left the court after 10 minutes. During this period, we apologized to the fans watching the billiards because we lost the derby. Then, some fans began to climb over the railings, and the police asked us to enter the dressing exchange as soon as possible. Because they will sooner or later lose control of the situation."
"Marca" screenshot
Through Kamala's narration, overseas fans will understand the significance of this derby: "Two weeks ago, we knew we would play against them, but their fans are not allowed to come to our home court, and our fans are not allowed to go to their home court. In the past week, there have been a lot of discussions about home games and opponents. The significance of this game is far more than 3 points, and it is about life and death."
As Kamala said, this was a game that could not be lost, but the final result was contrary to his wishes, and he and his teammates also suffered varying degrees of fright: "We closed the door of the locker room. The fans tried to break in, so we blocked the door with chairs. At that time, we heard screams, gunshots, and also saw thick smoke. Those fans who tried to break into the locker room eventually lost their lives."
can be imagined, How much psychological shadow did this riot have caused to Kamala and other Arema players: "I have never encountered such a thing. When we left the locker room, we saw blood, shoes and clothes everywhere. The police told us that they had two companions who died in the accident. I don't want this to happen to anyone, but when we think of 40,000 or 50,000 fans want our heads, we felt scared. At that time, we were very worried about our lives' safety, and we were as powerless as mice in the corner."
