Soccer fans involved in brawl after TV quiz
Soccer fans involved in brawl after TV quiz
Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
News of soccer fans getting into trouble, both on and off the
field, is nothing new and is a regular occurrence during the
competition season. Another brawl took place on Tuesday between
two large soccer teams; the Jakmania of Persija Jakarta and the
Vikings of Persib Bandung.
Both groups were among five groups of soccer fans that were
participating in the popular Siapa Berani (Who Dares) quiz shown
live on Indosiar private television channel.
It has been nearly a year since the Jakmania and the Vikings
were involved in a brawl at Bung Karno Stadium in Senayan,
Jakarta, last June.
Siapa Berani host, Helmi Yahya, regretted the incident, saying
that it was one of the best episodes before the violence broke
out.
"I really regret the incident and I feel sorry for the
victims. I never expected it to end this way. The intention to
invite them was merely to build friendship between them," he
said.
"They had asked the producer to sing Padamu Negeri (To You My
Country) as a sign of togetherness at the end of the show."
The reason for choosing soccer fans, which was proven to be
risky, was based on public demand as posted on the quiz's
website.
"The public requested the program invite soccer supporters. I
have to admit that we made the wrong choice this time. We had no
idea that the Jakmania and the Vikings were long-time enemies,"
Helmy said.
The 315th episode invited five soccer fan clubs comprising the
Jakmania, the Vikings, the Passopati of Central Java's Surakarta-
based Persijatim, East Java's Malang-based the Aremania and the
Soccer Supporters Association of Indonesia.
The brawl began at Indosiar canteen when Feri, a supporter of
the Jakmania, was about to congratulate Ali of the Viking on
winning the Rp 10 million (US$1,000) grand prize. But, instead of
shaking Ali's hands, Feri punched his face.
The incident triggered a bigger brawl at the canteen between
both groups, which included throwing stones, before the police
arrived 15 minutes later.
The Viking coordinator, Supena, then asked the police to
escort the 70 fans to Cikampek toll road, West Jakarta. The fans
were transported on a police truck and two Indosiar vans to
Bandung.
However, Supena claimed that the police only guarded them
until Tomang intersection, around seven kilometers from the
Indosiar station on Jl. Daan Mogot, West Jakarta. While trapped
in a traffic jam, some 50 members of the Jakmania began to
besiege the Vikings.
A police truck and a van managed to drive off but another one,
consisting of 14 supporters, was left behind.
The angry Jakmania members ransacked the van and started to
beat up the Vikings. Two traffic policemen failed to stop the
incident.
All the 14 Vikings were brought to nearby Harapan Kita
Hospital for severe head injuries.
"We were beaten with steel and wooden bats as if we were
animals. They even threatened to set us alight as well as the
van. They also looted our belongings and Rp 3 million that was
for us to have a picnic at a safari park in West Java," said
Pepen, one of the victims.
The supporters later reported the beating and requested
protection from city police headquarters.