KUALA LUMPUR (26 May 2011) – Tengku Abdullah Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah, the deputy president of the FA of Malaysia (FAM), has made an appeal to world football governing body FIFA not to take severe actions against the FA of Indonesia (PSSI).
The PSSI are currently in an impasse with the appointment of a new chairman following the failed Congress organised by the Normalisation Cmmmittee last week.
Following that failure, there’s every possibility that they might be sanctioned by FIFA.
“I hope that the PSSI will not be banned by FIFA for the sake of football in the region,” said Tengku Abdullah (pix). “I hope that the PSSI will appeal to FIFA. It is an organisational problem not those of the players. But the victim (of a severe sanction) will be football. I hope that FIFA will give PSSI more time to solve their problems.”
With sanction from FIFA looming, there are concerns that it might affect Indonesia’s hosting of the men’s Under-23 football event at the SEA Games in November this year.
Tengku Abdullah said that should Indonesia be banned by FIFA, a neutral venue should be chosen so that football can still be played at the SEA Games.
“It will be a great loss to South East Asia should football be excluded from the SEA Games,” added Tengku Abdullah. “If that should happen, then it will be a hot topic to be discussed at the next AFF Council meeting on 17 July 2011 (in Kuala Lumpur).”
