“There were fans who died in the arms of players,” the Chilean coach of the Indonesian club Arema, Javier Roca, told the Spanish radio station Cadena Ser this Sunday (02.10.2022), recounting how the avalanche lived in the Malang stadium which caused at least 125 deaths on the island of Java, in Indonesia.
Roca explained that he went to the locker room after the game and some players stayed on the field. “Coming back from the press conference, I find chaos inside the stadium, where the boys passed by with victims in their arms,” he said.
“The most terrible thing was when the victims began to enter” the locker room “to be treated,” the technician continued. “We had about 20, 25 people and four died. There were fans who died in the arms of some players,” he lamented.
The incidents began when fans of the local team Arema jumped onto the pitch at the Kanjuruhan stadium, after their team’s 3-2 loss against Persebaya Surabaya.
Police tried to disperse fans and return them to the stands by using tear gas after the death of two officers, causing avalanches and uncontrolled movements.
“I am mentally devastated. I feel a very strong burden, even responsibility. The results rule and determine what happens at the end. If we had tied, this would not have happened,” Roca lamented in the interview.
“There is no result, in any game, however important it may be, that is worth a lifetime,” he said.