Volleyball pundit urges action on violence

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Wed, 03/12/2008 11:55 AM | Sports

Volleyball pundit Rita Subowo called on the Indonesian Volleyball Association (PBVSI) to be consistent with its decision and sanctions following a controversial incident at a Sampoerna Hijau Proliga volleyball match.

The match, between Pemkab Jember and Bantul Yuso Tomkins on Sunday in Sleman, Yogyakarta, was plagued with violence.

The trouble began in the third set when Pemkab Jember players protested a referee decision to give a point to Yuso Tomkins following a bad call made by the linesman.

The referee put the game on hold and talked to captains of both teams. Suddenly, Sodikin of host Yuso Tomkins made a serve to Hadi who responded by kicking the ball at spectators, mainly Yuso Tomkin fans.

Angry spectators got out of hand, and started hurling plastic bottles at Pemkab Jember players. Fearing more violence from rowdy fans, the visitors refused to resume their game.

Later, the referee punished Hadi with a yellow card and gave the victory to the host team following the withdrawal of Pemkab Jember.

The association later handed a Rp 2.5 million (US$274) fine to yellow-carded Pemkab Jember player, Hadi Esmanto, for kicking the ball.

Rita, also president of Asian Beach Volleyball Confederation and Indonesian Sports Council, was asked to comment on the volleyball association's move to retract its initial decisions.

"Any decisions and sanctions made must be done so consistently. Otherwise, I am afraid, such things could happen again in the near future," PBVSI's former chairwoman warned.

"The association must hold firm to their decisions and sanctions," Rita told The Jakarta Post.

Rita also said referees and linesmen needed to be more professional, recalling several incidents in the past that were triggered by controversial decisions made by referees or bad calls from linesmen.

The volleyball association announced Tuesday it would stage a rematch between the two clubs this weekend in Bogor, West Java, ignoring any decisions and sanctions made previously.

Association executive Hanny Surkatty insisted the rematch would be a win-win solution for both teams.

"Both teams have whole-heartedly agreed to the rematch, so we agreed to ignore everything that happened, including the match result and fines imposed on Hadi," Hanny said.

When asked about the decision and sanctions made earlier, he said, "We won't make any decisions or impose sanctions we know would not be effective in resolving the problems."

The association understood the situation and circumstances that led to the incident, he said.

"I think the serve made by the Yuso player was unintentionally directed at Hadi, and Hadi did not intend to kick the ball towards spectators," he asserted. (ind)

in box

Match results from Sampoerna Hijau Proliga Series III Round 1, Yogyakarta.

Jakarta Electric PLN bt Surabaya Bank Jatim 22-25, 25-27, 24-26 Gresik Petrokimia bt Jakarta BNI Taplus 25-23, 25-27, 25-21, 26-28, 11-15.

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