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.