Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund has decided to cancel their planned trip to Indonesia in response to the Indonesian government’s decision to postpone football within Indonesia until safety measures at football stadiums are improved following the Kanjuruhan Stadium disaster that claimed the lives of 135 people. Instead of taking on Persib Bandung and Persebaya Surabaya in Indonesia this November, Dortmund will instead travel to Malaysia for their Southeast Asian tour, taking on Johor Darul Ta’zim at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium on November 28th.
With the 2022 FIFA World Cup set to kick-off at the end of November, Dortmund have decided to hold a tour of the Southeast Asia region at the same time as the tournament in order to maintain the match fitness of their players who aren’t going to Qatar for the World Cup.
For their tour, the Black-And-Yellow have selected Indonesia, Singapore, and Vietnam as their destinations. Dortmund were set to take on Persib and Persebaya in a three-team mini-tournament in Indonesia before flying off to Singapore to face Lion City Sailors. The Bundesliga giants then wrap things up at Vietnam, taking on Park Hang-seo’s Vietnam national team in Hanoi.
However, October 1st saw tragedy struck Indonesian football as a Super East Java Derby match between Arema FC and Persebaya ended in a massive human crush that resulted from a combination of rioting done by Arema fans and the police firing tear gas at said fans, which killed 135 people. The tragedy was the world’s second worst stadium disaster and the worst in Asia, prompting questions being raised regarding the safety of Indonesian stadiums.
With that in mind, Indonesian President Joko Widodo and the Indonesian government have ordered the postponement of football within Indonesia until safety measures within Indonesian stadiums can be improved and those responsible for the Kanjuruhan Stadium disaster could be held accounted, and to that end the Indonesian government are working together closely with FIFA, the AFC, as well as the Football Federation of Indonesia (PSSI).
Persebaya’s Gelora Bung Tomo was already unavailable due to renovations relating to the upcoming 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup and the government’s decision to postpone Indonesian football in the time being meant that Persib’s Gelora Bandung Lautan Api was also unavailable, thus leaving Dortmund with no choice but to scrap Indonesia from their scheduled Southeast Asia tour.
Instead of Persebaya and Persib, Dortmund are set to take on reigning Liga Super Malaysia champions Johor Darul Ta’zim at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium on November 28th. The two sides have met once before in July of 2015, with Dortmund thrashing JDT 6-1 at the Larkin Stadium.
Dortmund’s match with JDT will sandwich the Black-and-Yellow’s Singaporean and Vietnamese matches, with Dortmund taking on LCS on November 24th and the Vietnam national team on November 30th.
Despite scrapping their match with Persib and Persebaya, Dortmund continued to establish their cooperation with both the Maung Bandung and Bajul Ijo, with digital workshops, visits by BVB Legends and the Evonik Football Academy, as well as numerous joint projects being planned out.