JAKARTA: Locked stadium doors were a key reason why an Indonesian soccer riot turned so deadly, President Joko Widodo said on Wednesday, ordering an urgent review of safety in stadiums and suggesting that the sport’s governing body FIFA could help fix some issues.

Hundreds of fans were crushed on Saturday in one of the world’s worst soccer disasters, as they fled an overpacked stadium in the town of Malang, after police fired tear gas to disperse supporters of the losing side who flooded the pitch. Authorities said at least 131 people died, among them 33 minors.

“The problem is with locked doors and stairs that were too steep,” the president, commonly known as Jokowi, said during a visit to Malang, on which he met victims’ families and inspected the stadium. He ordered a full audit of stadiums nationwide within a month, to ensure compliance with safety and security measures, and called for an investigation by a team of soccer experts, academics and government officials to be concluded as soon as possible.

Comments from spectators, police and experts who spoke to Reuters, as well as video footage, show the incident was caused by a confluence of factors a crowd exceeding stadium capacity, angry fans, the police firing of tear gas and locked exits.

Published in Dawn, October 6th, 2022