Indonesia Issued with FIFA Warning

World soccer body FIFA has urged Indonesia to solve its soccer row by May 29, or face
suspension.

In its letter dated May 4, FIFA secretary-general Jerome Valcke warned the Youth and Sports
Ministry against what he viewed as meddling in the affairs of the Soccer Association of
Indonesia (PSSI).

The letter, sent to the PSSI, also held the National Sports Council (KONI) responsible for the
current stalemate in the country’s national soccer scene.

Valcke said the ministry and KONI had violated articles 13 and 17 of FIFA’s statutes, which
obligate all FIFA member associations to manage their affairs independently and without
influence from third parties.

“In this regard, please be informed that should all actions taken by the ministry and/or KONI
placing PSSI in violation of articles 13 and 17 of FIFA statutes not be withdrawn by May 29,
2015, then we will have no other option but to refer this matter to the appropriate FIFA body
for an immediate suspension,” said Valcke.

“Given the seriousness of this matter, we strongly recommend that you disseminate this
correspondence to Menpora [the ministry] and KONI as a matter of urgency and strongly
encourage them to find a solution before May 29, 2015”.

PSSI chairman La Nyalla Mattalitti delivered the letter to the ministry’s office on Tuesday, but
he failed to meet Youth and Sports Minister Imam Nahrawi who was attending the opening
ceremony of the Tour de Ijen in East Java.

The letter was received by assistant deputy for organization Dody Iswandi.

“We came here to deliver the letter we received from FIFA to the sports minister, which warns
that we will be sanctioned should the soccer row not be settled by May 29,” La Nyalla said as
quoted by Antara news agency.

Copies of the letter were also sent to President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, Vice President Jusuf
Kalla, Indonesian Olympic Committee (KOI) chairman Rita Subowo, KONI chairman Tono
Suratman as well as former chairman of the PSSI’s reform team, Agum Gumelar.

La Nyalla said he would continue communication with the ministry to discuss the situation,
despite failing to meet the minister on three previous occasions.
“Hopefully we can find a solution. If not, we will be sanctioned and we won’t be able to
compete in the upcoming SEA Games or ASEAN Football Federation [AFF] sanctioned-
tournaments, as well as the 2018 World Cup qualifying games,” said La Nyalla.

The suspension will also threaten the participation of domestic league champion Persib
Bandung and runner-up Persipura Jayapura’s participation in the Asian Football Confederation
(AFC) Cup, with both close to qualifying for the next stage.

Ministry spokesman and assistant minister for development and partnership Gatot S. Dewa
Broto said he had not yet received the letter.

Separately, hundreds of Persija Jakarta supporters, known as the Jakmania, staged a protest in
front of the State Palace on Tuesday demanding that Jokowi intervene to help settle the
country’s soccer conflict.

“We request that the President settles this problem. We have lodged our requests everywhere
before going to the State Palace. I hope the President shows his concern,” said Jakmania head
Richard Achmad Supriyanto in his oration on Tuesday.

They hoped the aborted Indonesia Super League (ISL) and other soccer competitions, as
declared by the PSSI on Saturday, could resume soon.

The PSSI announced a total stoppage of soccer activities, citing force majeure in the wake of
the ministry’s move to suspend the association on April 17, as tensions between the two
institutions heated up over club eligibility issues.

The ministry, through the Indonesian Professional Sports Body (BOPI), banned clubs
Persebaya Surabaya and Arema Indonesia from the ISL due to ownership disputes but the PSSI
rejected the move and continued to allow the two clubs to be part of the 18-club league.