AFC Sends Condolences to Football Fan Killed During Indonesia, Fiji Friendly
Jakarta. The Asian Football Confederation, or AFC, has sent condolences to a supporter who was killed by a stray firework during a friendly match between Indonesia and Fiji over the weekend.
Catur Yuliantoro, 32, was watching the game at Candrabhaga Stadium in Bekasi, West Java, on Saturday (02/09) with his family when he was hit by a stray firework believed to have been set off by another supporter.
Catur bled profusely from his face before dying from his wounds on route to a nearby hospital. He is survived by his wife and child.
"Please accept my deepest and heartfelt condolences on this tragedy. I would appreciate if you can please convey our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of the deceased fan," AFC president Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa said on the organization's website on Tuesday (05/09).
The Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) claimed it had followed strict procedures at the stadium, though the association's secretary general Ratu Tisha Destria admitted the stadium's security team should have done a better job.
"The bad impact after this incident is not only for the supporters, but for all of Indonesian football. Moreover, this came when PSSI has just started doing some new innovations and restorations, it was hurtful. We can't work alone," Tisha said on Sunday.
"I'm calling all supporters to proactively stop violence in football. All elements must unite to fight against those groups who always try to make chaos," she added.
Police reportedly arrested the suspect who killed Catur and is now being questioned.
"We won't be careless about this issue. After this, operation management around stadiums will be improved, including how we coordinate with the police," Tisha continued.
Catur's death comes just weeks after another fatality in Indonesian football, which saw a Persib Bandung fan, Rico Andrian, killed by fellow supporters during a Liga 1 match between arch-rivals Persib and Persija Jakarta in Bandung, West Java, on July 22.
Indonesian football is one of the most violent fan experiences according to data from watchdog Save Our Soccer, which shows that since 1990 there have been more than 50 football-related deaths.
Thirty-six of those deaths, including Catur's, took place in the past five years alone.
In November last year, a Persija supporter was killed in a brawl with local residents in Cirebon, West Java, on his way home from Solo, Central Java, when Persija met Persib at a neutral venue.
Earlier in May last year, 16-year-old Persija fan Muhammad Fahreza was found in critical condition after being assaulted by an unknown police officer. Fahreza then died in the hospital. A month after his death, police officer Brig. Hanafi had acid thrown on him by Persija supporters.
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