The closed gates of the stadium contributed to the tragedy in Indonesia in which 131 people died

EPA-EFE / MAST IRHAM

In the incident in which 131 people died, the audience ran away from the tear gas fired by the police, but during the stampede people could not get out because the gates were closed

A delay in unlocking the gates of Indonesia's soccer stadium after violence erupted at the end of the match contributed to the disaster that killed at least 131 people, the National Football Association said.

The Indonesian Football Association has permanently suspended the chief executive officer and security coordinator of Arema FC, the team that hosted Saturday's match, for failing to secure the pitch and give the order to unlock the gates in a timely manner.

"The doors should have been open, but they were closed," said Erwin Tobing, head of the association's Disciplinary Committee.

Due to the lack of workers, only a few people were ordered to open the gates. They had not yet reached some of the gates when spectators scrambled to escape tear gas fired by police in an attempt to control fans entering the pitch. FIFA bans the use of tear gas in stadiums.

All gates were to be unlocked 10 minutes before the end of the game. But on Saturday, seven minutes after the referee blew the final whistle, several doors were still locked, adding to the casualties in one of the world's deadliest sporting disasters.

Police, however, continued to insist that the gates were open but were too narrow to allow only two people through at a time, as hundreds tried to escape.

The tragedy happened in Malang in the match Artema - Pesebaya Surabaya.

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