JAKARTA (14 March 2013) – The availability of Dutch-born striker Stefano Lilypaly (pix) for the AFC Asian Cup qualifying match against Saudi Arabia next week has been thrown into doubt as FIFA have yet to give the clearance for his inclusion in the Indonesian squad.
Indonesia will take on Saudi Arabia in the second game of the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers on 23 March at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium.
“We have been chasing this issue for some time now – at least for several months. But we are still waiting for the green light from FIFA,” said Habil Marati of the Indonesia National Team Management.
It is believed that the issue with Stefano – who plays for Almere City (in the Dutch Second Division) – is that FIFA have yet to get the proper clearance from the Dutch FA (KNVB) in as far as his international appearance was concerned.
The Dutch FA must give confirmation that naturalized-player Stefano had never appeared for the Dutch national side.
