Arema FC and Persebaya Surabaya will meet on Tuesday at 15.30 WIB at Stadion Kapten I Wayan Dipta — and there will be no fans in the stands.
Persebaya coach Bernardo Tavares said the venue change to Bali and the decision to play behind closed doors had hollowed out what the teams normally experience in the East Java derby, arguing the move reduced “the essence of a big match like the East Java derby.”
Tavares made the remarks at a pre-match press conference on Monday, 27 April 2026, and said players on both sides wanted to play with supporters present. He told reporters that he believed everyone prefers the presence of fans, saying in Indonesian that he thought all players want to play with spectators: "Saya pikir semua pemain ingin bermain dengan kehadiran penonton. Para pemain, pelatih, saya rasa semua orang lebih suka bermain dengan dukungan suporter, baik itu pendukung tuan rumah, tandang, di mana pun."
The scheduled fixture follows a 1-1 draw between the sides at Stadion Gelora Bung Tomo in their previous meeting, a game that carried the liveliness fans bring to the derby. Persebaya, under Tavares, also played Persita at Gelora Bung Tomo on Saturday, 4 April 2026, a reminder that the team has recently been competing in front of home supporters in Surabaya.
Moving the match to Stadion Kapten I Wayan Dipta and barring spectators creates a different setting from the last encounter in Surabaya. Tavares singled out both elements — the shift of venue and the absence of fans — as the central concerns, saying the change stripped the fixture of its usual intensity and communal backdrop.
The decision frames Tuesday’s contest as an unusual edition of a familiar rivalry. The arema fc vs persebaya surabaya meeting will therefore be decided in a quiet stadium rather than amid the chants and banners that had defined recent matches between the clubs.
For coaches and players who, as Tavares said, prefer the energy that comes from supporters home or away, the practical consequence is immediate: tactics and preparation will be tested in an arena deprived of its typical crowd-driven momentum. Tavares, who led Persebaya in the April 4 match at Gelora Bung Tomo, will take his team into Bali on Tuesday knowing the stakes remain the same on the scoreboard but the context that usually shapes the derby has been removed.
