TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - To the chairman of the All Indonesia Football Association (PSSI) and Liga Indonesia, the Indonesian Professional Sportsmen Board (BOPI) and lastly, to the youth and sports minister, we shout: while you are fighting each other, Indonesia's reputation maintains its downward trajectory. Last week, PSSI's standing went down three rungs on the ladder, to number 159 in the world.
Never before has Indonesia's position been below Timor-Leste, which now stands at 152 according to FIFA, the international football federation. Yet players of the former Indonesian province had only recently begun to don their football boots.
This very negative situation has a long history. During qualification for World Cup 2018 in the Asia zone this year, Indonesia will land in group 4, along with Asian footballing minnows.
This blurry picture is not an overnight development. This is nothing more than the continuation of rivalry in 2011 between support for the Indonesia Premier League (LPI), led by tycoon Arifin Panigoro against the Indonesia Super League (LSI), led by businessman Nirwan Bakrie. The LSI group won the conflict and now has control over both PSSI and LPI.
The cause of the conflict is similar to those of previous yearly altercations. BOPI refuses to release the Arema Cronus and Persebaya Surabaya clubs in verifying the 2015 Indonesia League tournaments. The group helping the youth and sports minister, established according to Law No. 3/2005 on the National Sports System, said that the two clubs which so far played under the LSI, were still in dispute over their 'dualism management' issue.
Indeed. In Malang today, there is still a 'legality dispute' between Arema Cronus, a club owned by Nirwan Bakrie which competed under LSI, and Arema Indonesia, a member of LPI. In Surabaya, a similar dispute is ongoing, between fans of Persebaya Surabaya, a club and LSI member, and Persebaya 1927, which once played under LPI.
It is difficult to see any meeting points. BOPI, which is the extended hand of the sports minister, is tasked with providing licenses to hold tournaments and to oversee the path of professional sports. Although it was established in law, BOPI's authority is regulated by the Sports Ministry and Sports Regulation No. 16/2007. Based on that regulation, BOPI can issue administrative penalties and warnings, and even suspend temporary licenses. Although the aim is to unravel the mess of football in Indonesia, BOPI is unable to go beyond its authority.
This is because based on Law No. 3/2005, which stands higher than a ministerial regulation, the development of professional sports is openly done by the core organizations. In this case, that should be the PSSI. In fact, the law says disputes should also be settled by core sports organizations. Disputes can be settled by negotiations, arbitration or the courts. PSSI also ignores BOPI's recommendations, probably because it's getting some 'encouragement' from Vice President Jusuf Kalla, who considers that Sports Minister Imam Nahrawi interferes too much in PSSI affairs. Additionally, FIFA which had been supporting the pro-LSI group, went on to defend PSSI. FIFA said that this year's competition must include the participation of 18 clubs, which includes Arema Cronus and Persebaya.
The Indonesia League competition was finally delayed until the end of the month. Soon, PSSI will elect a new chairman. But these two factors are unlikely to provide the 'remedy' needed to fix the problems of football in Indonesia. (*)
