Indonesia’s President Orders Temporary Suspension of Soccer Matches After Deadly Stampede
Indonesian President Joko Widodo has ordered the temporary suspension of local soccer matches and urged a safety review in the aftermath of a deadly stampede in East Java province on Saturday.
Widodo called on the youth and sports minister, the local soccer association chief, and the national police chief to “thoroughly investigate” how the matches were carried out and the safety measures involved.
He ordered that all local soccer matches be temporarily suspended “until evaluation and security improvements are made.”
“I regret that this tragedy occurred and I hope this is the last tragedy of football in the country. There should not be another humanitarian tragedy like this in the future,” Widodo said in a televised address, local media reported….