More than 170 people died after a soccer match in Indonesia on Saturday night.
Former Östersund player Baruy Nouri is the only Swede in the league.
– It’s a black day and there are no words to describe how sad this is, he says.
More than 170 people are reported to have died after the football match between Arima and Persibaya in Indonesia.
One who follows the news reports closely is Proa Nuri, 35, who is the only Swede in the Indonesian league.
He has a past with AIK, Dalkurd and Östersund, among others, but has been playing since the summer of 2018 at Bali United.
– I woke up today and they wrote in our team that the league was canceled due to the deaths. I didn’t watch the match but I went to bed early with my son so it was a shock and I’m still upset. There are no words to describe how sad this is, he tells Sportbladet.
Nouri, who has played more than 100 games for Bali United, admits at the same time that he was not completely surprised by what happened.
– It’s not entirely unexpected because every year something happens here with runway scandals and where people lose their lives. The last time this happened was three months ago when some supporters of another team died. But now it’s on a totally different scale and in an unacceptable way where his team is so angry about the loss, the pitch is stormed, the police are pushed back and people are dying.
‘One of the cruelest places’
Saturday’s match was a hot derby as guest fans aren’t even welcome, and Nuri says he himself played at Kanjuruhan Stadium and it’s not a pleasant experience.
– It’s one of the most inhospitable places you can come to in Indonesia along with maybe five or six other arenas. The fans are very fanatical and if you win there you have to get a police card from there.
Can it compare to anything else you’ve tested?
– There are a bunch of prestigious clubs here with 40 to 80,000 in the stands and they are very inhospitable and you feel very small. It can’t be compared to Sweden, but when we met Galatasaray with Östersund, it was almost on that level. You feel very alone and half unprotected.
Get a police card after matches
Did you feel afraid? How is the security in the squares?
– No, don’t be afraid, but when you win away from the biggest clubs, you have to leave with an armored police car and there you are well protected because they can withstand everything when people throw things and so on.
– But I’ve been here for four years and I’ve discovered the fact that this is how you wait for the safety car to arrive after the game and I realize that it may sound extreme and it is also extreme and it shouldn’t be. You should be able to go play a football match and win fairly without something like that.
The league is taking a break
Nouri tells us that there can sometimes be thousands of police, military and guards in stadiums when there are high-risk matches and that stadiums can vary quite a bit.
– Most of them are modern, good and protected so that people cannot enter. It’s not the best and newest arenas but it’s not the worst and oldest either.
How are your fans in Bali?
– Our fans are also fanatics but they are not inhospitable and there is no threatening atmosphere in our arena. They are full and they sing all the matches and it is not at all like in some other stadiums.
How to overcome the problems of the runway in Indonesia?
– That’s a very silly question, I have no clue. You have to understand that football is football, it is an entertaining sport and there can be rivalry between teams and fans but it shouldn’t be more than that. Life is more important than results. I hope everyone is thinking now, there is a lot on social media and in the media because this is not normal.
The Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) has decided to postpone all league matches next week. In addition, Arema FC will not be allowed to organize any other home matches during the season.
It’s good if they take responsibility right away and show that you can’t act like that. Barwa Nouri says she is responsible anyway by the league.