No Fanaticism is Worth a Life

KOMPAS/SAMUEL OKTORA

Head of the criminal investigation unit of Bandung Police in West Java Adj. Sr. Comr. M Yoris MY Marzuki (second left) shows an item of evidence collected from the scene of the killing of Persija Jakarta supporter, Haringga Sirila, 23, on Sunday (23/9/2018), at a press conference on Monday (24/9). The police have questioned 16 people, and named eight people suspects in relation to the incident before the match between Persib Bandung and Persija in the Go-Jek Liga 1 soccer league at Bandung Lautan Api Stadium, Bandung.

BANDUNG, KOMPAS – Fanaticism is like a double-edged sword in soccer. When managed properly, pride for one’s favorite club can contribute positive energy to a match. However, fanaticism may also be disastrous and lead to fatal violence.

Amid mourners’ sorrowful cries, the body of Haringga Sirla, 23, was carried to its final resting place in Kebulen village, Jatibarang district, Indramayu regency, West Java, on Monday (24/9/2018). His orange scarf – bearing the signature color of Jakarta’s Persija soccer club – accompanied him in his coffin.

The Persija supporter was killed. Hari, as Haringga is often called, was brutally assaulted in the parking lot of Bandung Lautan Api Stadium in Bandung on Sunday (23/9), before a match between Persija and Bandung’s Persib soccer club in the Go-Jek Liga 1 championships. The attack left him with severe bleeding in his head. His attackers are believed to be Persib supporters. The attackers deliberately recorded the assault and uploaded the video to the web. It later went viral on social media.

“My son is no longer alive,” Hari’s mother Mira, 55, said. She was stammering and crying. She could not believe that her youngest son would lose his life because of his love for soccer.

“He just said he wanted to go to a friend’s house. I did not think that he was going to watch a soccer game as he did not bring his [Persija] shawl. He kissed my hand before leaving the house. I just told him to be careful,” said Mira, who found out about Hari’s death from the viral video.

“If only I knew that it would be like this, I would have told him to just stay him. My son is gone. Yesterday, we were just thinking of helping him to buy a house in Indramayu. Now, he’s in his final home,” Hari’s father Siloam Tumangkeng, 52, said.

He said that his son, who was still single, often went out of town to Yogyakarta and East Java to watch Persija matches. Hari is also a member of the Cengkareng branch of Jakmania, a popular group of Persija’s ardent fans. The auto shop mechanic often went to Persija games by himself or with others.

Anticipatory measures

Rivalry between supporters had been anticipated by the law enforcement. The police had issued a circular urging Persija supporters not to come to Bandung for the team’s match against Persib. A similar measure is often taken for when the two teams meet in Jakarta. However, such efforts are deemed ineffective in ensuring that supporters do not come.

“We ordered our 3,000 members not to go to Bandung. It was an order from the central board of management [of Jakmania]. However, some supporters chose to go on their own. It would have been impossible for us to check on all supporters, one by one. [Going to matches] is just a form of love for the club,” Jakmania’s Cengkareng area coordinator Bayu Ali Said explained at Hari’s funeral.

Despite the deep-seated rivalry between Persija and Persib, Bayu said, Jakmania had never condoned violence. “The requirement for someone to be a Jakmania member is that they love Persija. There is no training. We have also urged our members to not go after any [of our opposing teams’ supporters]. We urge the police to investigate this case,” he said.

Persib’s Viking fans club chair, Heru Joko, also deplored the assault and conveyed his deepest apologies and condolences to Hari’s family. “This is a moment of sorrow. However, we hope that this can be a start for bobotoh [Persib fans] to improve themselves, especially in [maintaining] public order and brotherhood,” he said.

Hari’s death was the result of fanaticism. Love for soccer should result in positive energy for the clubs, instead of death and destruction.

(SAMUEL OKTORA, ABDULLAH FIKRI ASHRI)