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PSSI to elect new chairman at congress
The Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) will on March 19 hold its national congress to elect the association’s new chairman, the PSSI’s executive committee said at Saturday’s annual congress at the Pan Pacific Nirwana Resort in Tabanan, Bali
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he Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) will on March 19 hold its national congress to elect the association’s new chairman, the PSSI’s executive committee said at Saturday’s annual congress at the Pan Pacific Nirwana Resort in Tabanan, Bali.
“There will be no extraordinary national congress. The [March 19] event in Bintan Island will be a regular national congress in accordance with the PSSI statutes,” PSSI chairman and graft convict Nurdin Halid, whose controversial term ends in April, said Saturday.
The much-criticized Nurdin has chaired PSSI since 2003. He won a second term in 2007 amid controversy over the fact that he had served two years in prison on corruption charges — a clear violation of rules set by world soccer’s governing body, FIFA.
Article 32 of the FIFA standard statutes — the main platform for the PSSI statutes — states that “members of the Executive Committee… must not have been previously found guilty of a criminal offense.”
However, Nurdin slipped past this clause by omitting the word “previously” in the Indonesian language version of the ratified PSSI statutes.
Nurdin has been criticized as unfit to chair the PSSI not only because of his background, but also because of the national soccer squad’s poor performance in 2009. They experienced a shock loss to host Laos in the group stage of the 2009 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games and failed to qualify for the 2011 Asian Cup for the first time in 14 years.
However, some clubs continue to back calls to re-elect Nurdin at the up-coming congress.
“Nurdin Halid remains the ideal candidate to lead the PSSI. Many clubs stand by him,” Jakarta-based Persija soccer club chairman Toni Tobias was quoted as saying by Antara news agency.
During Saturday’s annual national congress in Bali, two clubs — Persema Malang and Persibo Bojonegoro — were officially stripped of their membership at the PSSI. Both clubs recently left the PSSI-sanctioned Indonesian Super League (LSI) to participate in the inaugural Indonesian Premier League (LPI), which is not sanctioned by the PSSI.
The PSSI said both clubs violated PSSI, AFC and FIFA statutes by moving to the rival league.
Nurdin said neither club had submitted written clarification to defend themselves at the congress.
Another club, PSM Makassar, also faces being ousted from the PSSI if it continues to participate in the LPI. The PSSI relegated PSM Makassar to Division I, two levels below the LSI. The club, however, also plays in the LPI, which was created by oil tycoon Arifin Panigoro.
At the Bali congress, the PSSI also kicked out three clubs — Persma Manado, Gaspa Palopo, and Persegi Gianyar — that had been previously penalized by FIFA. Persma was penalized because had not played in official competition for three years in a row, while the two others had issues around the hiring of foreign players.
