Indonesia lost the right to host the youth World Cup because of its support for Palestine, but the 135 people who died in the crush at Kanjuruhan Stadium say that justice is more important.

Indonesians who love football are in shock after the sport's governing body, FIFA, took away their country's right to host the under-20 World Cup because some people there didn't want an Israeli team to be there.

shutterstock.com

Indonesia was supposed to host the U-20 World Cup on the island of Bali at the end of May. 

However, when Israel's youth team qualified for the tournament, Indonesia, which strongly supports the Palestinians, was faced with a sports problem that quickly turned political.

Some people in Indonesia, though, say that the debate over the youth football World Cup has taken attention away from a much more important issue: getting justice for the 135 people who died in a football stadium crush in East Java, Indonesia, at the end of last year.

Critics say that after what happened at Kanjuruhan Stadium, one of the worst football disasters ever, Indonesia shouldn't have even been considered for the U-20 World Cup.

A man who lost two children in the stadium disaster said, "The authorities have done everything they can to avoid justice, both criminally and civilly, and have played with the lives of hundreds of people."

"Why did anyone think it was okay to let the World Cup go on while the souls of the dead and their families were not given justice?

Indonesia was taken off the list.

In a statement released this week, FIFA said that "current circumstances" were the reason why it was no longer possible for Indonesia to host the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2023.

FIFA didn't give any more information, but they did say that a new host country would be named as soon as possible.

SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES

But the move came after Indonesian politicians and conservative groups criticized the inclusion of Israel in the U-20 World Cup. In March, Bali Governor Wayan Koster asked the country's then-Youth and Sport Minister Zainudin Amali to ban the Israel team from attending "out of respect" for Indonesia's diplomatic position on Palestine.

"The Indonesian government and the Israeli government do not have any diplomatic ties. We want the Minister to make it against the rules for the Israeli team to compete in Bali," Koster wrote to the Minister on March 14.