Police chief fired, officers suspended after Indonesian stampede

An Indonesian police chief has been fired and nine other officers suspended after a weekend stampede at a football stadium that left 125 people dead, in one of the world's worst sports disasters.

The police chief of Malang city, Ferli Hidayat, has been replaced as part of an investigation into the tragedy on Saturday at the Kanjuruhan Stadium, national police spokesman Dedi Prasetyo said on Monday.

Chaos erupted after thousands of fans invaded the pitch as hosts Arema FC lost 3-2 to rival East Java club Persebaya Surabaya. Police fired tear gas to try to quell the pitch invaders, sending spectators scrambling to exit gates.

At least 28 officers are also being investigated for suspected ethical violations in connection with the incident, Prasetyo said.

"We are working fast, but with prudence," Prasetyo told a news conference.

The announcement came after the government formed a joint independent fact-finding team consisting of government officials, football association officials, experts, academics and journalists.

"The team is expected to finish its work in two or three weeks," political, legal and security affairs minister Mohammad Mahfud said after a meeting of senior ministers and security officials to discuss the tragedy.

He said the government had also ordered the national police to investigate people deemed responsible for the incident "in the next few days" and evaluate security measures.

The deadly stampede prompted Indonesian President Joko Widodo to order the suspension of the top-flight Liga 1 competition pending a review.

Most of the victims died of a lack of oxygen and from being trampled during the stampede, police said.

More than 300 people were injured, some seriously, officials said.

Among the dead were at least 17 children, said Nahar, an official at the Ministry for Women's Empowerment and Child Protection.

"The number [of children killed] could rise, as we are still verifying the data," he told Kompas TV.

The use of tear gas raised questions about whether security personnel had followed proper procedures in dealing with a crowd inside a stadium.

Human rights activists called for a thorough investigation.

Police commanders and other officers must be held accountable for their decision to fire "significant and excessive amounts of tear gas, which apparently caused suffocation, and stampeded the crowd towards exits where many were trampled to death," said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

"FIFA's own rules bar use of 'crowd control gas' in stadiums by security officials on edge of the field, which was precisely where the Indonesian police were at the time of the incident," he said.

The Under-20 World Cup, organized by world football governing body FIFA, is set to take place in Indonesia next year. Indonesia has also applied to host the 2023 Asian Cup.

Clashes among rival fans, sometimes fatal, are common in the football-mad country, where matches are regularly attended by tens of thousands of people.

At least 78 people have been killed since the 1990s in football-related violence involving rival fans, according to Save Our Soccer, an Indonesian football watchdog.

Indonesian football has also been beset by other problems over the years, including clubs' failure to pay salaries of their domestic and foreign players, match-fixing and conflicts at the national governing body, PSSI. A lack of international competitiveness has also weighed.