Indonesian Premier League Remains A Mess

INDONESIA LEAGUE,-  Even as the Indonesian Premier League kicked off on Saturday, its future was far from certain.

Persib Bandung and Semen Padang drew 1-1 at Si Jalak Harupat Stadium in Bandung, providing a brief glimpse of actual football amid a sea of off-field problems plaguing the sport.

Where the competition goes from here on is a mystery, though. League administrator Liga Prima announced after the match that the IPL was on hiatus, having originally planned to hold four more matches this month before a one-month break for November’s Southeast Asian Games.

“In a meeting with the [Asian Football Confederation], Sihar asked the AFC to give us dispensation to hold only one match in order to meet the deadline and be eligible for AFC club competitions,” Liga Prima chief executive Widjajanto said on Sunday.

He referred to Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) competition committee chief Sihar Sitorus. The AFC had set a deadline of Saturday for Indonesia to restart its league or face a two-year ban from continental play.

The fate of the IPL has been in doubt since Liga Prima and club managers met on Thursday. At the meeting, 14 clubs threatened to leave the league and form their own competition if the PSSI did not meet a series of demands including reinstating former league administrator Liga Indonesia (PTLI), providing a 99 percent stake in PTLI to the clubs, reducing the top flight to 18 teams and giving clubs a Rp 2 billion ($226,000) annual subsidy.

There are also concerns over the status of the players who took part in the season opener.

“The match was legal as PSSI chairman Djohar Arifin Husin and the head of competition committee signed a temporary players’ ratification [for Persib and Semen Padang] just before the game,” Widjajanto said.

According to regulations, he continued, players with previous experience in Indonesia only needed to be ratified while newcomers required verification and ratification.

The competition committee gave clubs until Oct. 26 to register as IPL participants. The league is expected to resume on Nov. 26.

Persisam Samarinda chairman Harbiansyah Hanafiah disagreed with the PSSI and Liga Prima’s interpretation.

“How can a match be considered legal without players’ ratification? What if there’s a contract dispute between clubs? Do you really believe new foreign players already submitted their [international transfer certificate] and have a work permit?” he said.

He also said the PSSI’s new leadership had breached too many regulations. “If they don’t want to comply with the regulations, we don’t want to take part in the IPL. The PSSI doesn’t belong to them. They’re just temporary. We will stick to our plan to hold the Indonesian Super League,” Harbiansyah said.
(thejakartaglobe)