‘Cause there’s a minute of silence before tonight’s Champions League games

A minute of silence for everyone on the fields that this week host the matches that are part of UEFA competitions for clubs and national teams. Sixty seconds to address a thought and a prayer for the victims of the carnage that shook the world of sport and international football. A tragedy occurred at Kanjuruhan Stadium in Indonesia.

That’s why before kick-off in the Champions League, Europa League, Europa Conference League and Women’s World Cup play-offs, all teams will line up, one in front of the other, to participate in this moment of condolence. It will also take place on the occasion of the matches of the Italians: Ajax-Napoli and Inter-Barcelona today, as well as Juventus-Maccabi Haifa and Chelsea-Milan on Wednesday.

Heysel from Brussels. Hillsborough of Sheffield. And now the map of the city of Malang (on the island of Java) also enters the accessories kit of madness, pain and death. A frightening disaster. A hellish scenario in which 131 people lost their lives (of which 32 are children), but the death toll is destined to rise. The green rectangle turned into a mass grave.

A cascade of flowers outside the Malang Stadium in memory of the victims.

Terrifying images of corpses being transported away. Dramatic photos of bodies trampled, suffocated, sucked into the crowd, disappearing into the black hole of panic that characterized the Saturday of those moments. A commission of inquiry announced by the Indonesian government will serve to shed light on any responsibility for what will be remembered as the greatest misfortune in football history.

Security procedures, law enforcement actions and methods, stadium conditions, number of tickets sold versus actual capacity are the items that appear next to the number of casualties and injuries in the investigation file.

To start the fire is Arema’s home defeat (2-3) against Persebaya Surabaya. The rest is a one night crime story of blind violence. The invasion of the field gives the “o” to accidents: the fans’ anger overflows and overcomes everything. The manhunt is triggered, players and managers are targeted. Everything is thrown at them: bottles, coins, stones… nothing is spared.

Thousands of people invade the camp and the police – for fear of not being able to contain the crowd – fire tear gas. In a few minutes the panic became disturbing, the uncontrolled reaction of the fleeing spectators is fatal. They look for the gates, the exit, an opening to get to safety. They swarm like ants, they get lost in the belly of the plant. Most of them will only meet death.