Portuguese player Sergio Silva describes ‘terrifying scenario’ of tragedy in Indonesia

Portuguese footballer Sergio Silva has acknowledged the “terrifying scenario” and the feeling of fear he experienced after escaping a tragedy in an Indonesian league game that left more than a hundred people dead and dozens injured.

In an interview with Lusa, the 28-year-old defender said that after the final whistle of Arema FC’s home defeat (3:2) to Persebaia, the team was not even going to hold the usual round of thanks to the fans. but this, when he approached the bench to apologize, saw that several fans had invaded the field.

“When we started to see a lot of fans intruding, we got a little scared because we didn’t know if they wanted to hurt us. We ran to the locker room and barricaded ourselves there, not understanding what was happening. while we were receiving information from abroad, there were many wounded, a lot of noise, dead after dead. It was a terrifying scenario,” he said.

Sergio Silva said the players were “frightened” because they were closed, and even put “tables in front of the doors, not knowing what was going on and how many people might break in.” It was only later, he admitted, that they realized that the agitation was mainly aimed at avoiding the tear gas thrown by the authorities.

“We began to realize that people were panicking, and this was not done to hurt us, but simply to have room for circulation, because many people died from crushing and panicking,” he recalled, clarifying, that his family is in Portugal and who only reassured his wife and son when he safely left the stadium on the club bus, despite still being “in shock” from what had happened.

Concluding his second season in the country, the Portuguese footballer also admitted that the fans of FC Arema and football in Indonesia are “quite fanatical” and that it “was a high-risk game”, even without the presence of fans from the rival club: “We thought that we will need more time to leave the stadium until the fans calm down, but no dead or anything like that.

Faced with what he described as a “total lack of control”, Sergio Silva admitted that he did not know what the future of football in Indonesia would be, pointing only to the week of suspension already announced by the authorities and the expectation of more consequences. . On the other hand, he avoided commenting on the actions of the police and the consequences of the use of tear gas.

“I don’t know if the police acted well or badly. I think they tried to do their best, innocent people certainly died, but maybe it came to a situation of out of control in which the police were forced to take the measures that they took. “, – he thought, saying: “If I see that I am in the least danger, I will be the first to approach my people in Portugal.”

Indonesian authorities initially said 174 people were killed in riots at the end of a football match in East Java, but the official figure has since been changed to 125.

An outbreak of violence came after about 3,000 Arema FC fans took to the pitch after a 2–3 defeat to rivals Persebaya Surabaya and clashed with security forces, who in turn fired tear gas in an attempt to disperse the crowd.

According to East Java Police Chief Nico Afinta, most of the deaths were caused by crushes from fans, many of whom suffocated while trying to leave the stadium. Many people were trampled to death in the chaos of the stampede.

During the riots that spread outside the stadium, at least two police officers were killed. The Indonesian Football League has been suspended and authorities have ordered an investigation into the incidents.

Yesterday’s incident is already considered one of the worst tragedies in the recent history of world football.