Indonesia resumes football league games two months after deadly stampede

JAKARTA: Indonesia resumed football league matches behind closed doors on Monday December 5 two months after it was rocked by one of the world's worst stadium disasters.

More than 40 children were killed in the city of Malang after a deadly stampede that killed 135 people, including more than 40 children.

The football league season is about to end. The country's chief security minister Mahfud MD told reporters before the games began that scheduled matches that were previously determined will be completed.

He said that matches would be held without fans in the stands.

The decision was made by the government to support the future of the national football Mahfud said.

On Monday, Indonesia's football association chief Mochammad Iriawan thanked the government for allowing the resumption of the football league, saying authorities had worked to make sure it was safe to stage matches.

The government made a decision to end four matches of Indonesia's top flight Liga 1 on Monday.

After supporters invaded the pitch at the end of a league match between local team Arema FC and rivals Persebaya Surabaya on October 1, police fired tear gas into packed stands, sparking a stampede at the Kanjuruhan stadium in Malang, East Java.