JAKARTA (25 Dec 2011) – The FA of Indonesia (PSSI) have until March 2012 to get their house in order and rein in a rebel top-flight league or face possible sanctions.
In a letter dated 21 December and leaked to the press, world football’s governing body FIFA, and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) warned the PSSI, that they are running out of time.
“Should the situation not be resolved by 20 March 2012, we will have no other choice but to report the case of the PSSI to the FIFA Associations Committee for review and possible sanction,” the letter stated.
It was signed by FIFA’s secretary general, Jerome Valcke, and the secretary general of the AFC, Alex Soosay.
In August, a month after Djohar Arifin Husin was elected president, the PSSI said that they would disband the Indonesian Super League (ISL) and replace it with the Indonesian Premier League (IPL).
Eighteen clubs rebelled and revived the ISL.
The letter was sent after Djohar, the PSSI’s deputy chairman, Farid Rahman, and their secretary general, Tri Goestoro, met with Valcke, Soosay and the AFC’s acting president, Zhang Jilong, in Tokyo on 15 December 2011.
In the letter, FIFA also warned that players in the ISL would be ineligible to play for their respective national teams.
PSSI spokesman Edi Elison confirmed they had received the letter and said the association would take action soon. “The executive committee will discuss the letter and arrive at the best way to resolve the problem,” he said.
Joko Driyono, the chief executive of Liga Indonesia, the ISL administrator, said they would wait and see what steps the PSSI will take.
“In the letter, FIFA tells the PSSI to find ‘an amicable solution to the current situation for the common good of Indonesian football,’ ” he said. “We want to see how the PSSI will define that.”
By Wimbo Satwiko (Jakarta Globe)
