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View all search resultsDie-hard supporters of Gen
ie-hard supporters of Gen. George Toisutta and businessman Arifin Panigoro insist on putting their candidates back on the list of the Indonesian Soccer Association (PSSI) presidential re-scheduled race on June 30, adding that it prepared a plan to counter possible sanctions from FIFA over its agenda.
“Should the June 30 congress face another failure, we have prepared to file a lawsuit to CAS [the Court of Arbitration for Sports],” Group 78 member Sihar Sitorus, who is a PSSI voter from Medan Pro Titan FC, told a press conference on Tuesday.
The lawsuit will consist of a (1) request to CAS to forbid FIFA posing sanctions against PSSI and its members; (2) request to CAS asking FIFA to form a new normalization committee to elect nine PSSI executive committee members excluding the association’s new chair and deputy; (3) request to hold another PSSI congress to elect its chair and deputy after CAS releases its decision over Group 78’s lawsuit, and (4) demand an indemnification worth 500,000 Swiss Francs (US$586,990) to FIFA should the world’s governing body hand sanctions to PSSI.
Normalization committee chief Agum Gumelar personally met FIFA executives Thierry Regenass and Frank van Hattum at the world soccer body headquarters in Zurich on Monday following PSSI’s May 20 congress, which ended in deadlock.
Monday’s meeting ended fruitfully as FIFA allowed the committee to hold the June 30th congress in order to elect the new PSSI chair and deputy as well as executive members. FIFA, however, said that another failed congress might lead Indonesia to sanction.
On the Group 78 side, nevertheless, the possibility of Indonesia facing sanctions seems to not shun them away from faithfully making way for George and Arifin to the race.
“We will keep supporting Pak George and Arifin, no matter what. The scenario may significantly change if Nirwan D. Bakrie is also allowed to race in the next congress,” said Saleh Mukadar, a Group 78 member who lost his vote in the PSSI congress over his involvement in the breakaway Indonesian Premier League (LPI).
FIFA had previously banned George, Arifin, Nirwan and Nurdin Halid (former PSSI chief whose power was revoked following his criminal record) from PSSI candidacy.
In a FIFA letter to PSSI on April 21, 2011 it mentioned that “[The FIFA Emergency Committee] confirmed as well the non-eligibility to the presidency of PSSI of the four candidates who were rejected by the PSSI appeal committee on Feb. 28, 2011, i.e. Mr Nurdin Halid, Mr Nirwan Bakrie, Mr George Toisutta and Mr Arifin Panigoro.”
The decision to revoke the candidacy of the four people had been repeatedly stated in several FIFA letters to PSSI afterward, although there are several protests from the supporters of George and Arifin, and even from the PSSI Appeal committee on May 12.
In the meantime, at Monday’s meeting in Zurich, Agum said that FIFA urged breakaway LPI to immediately join PSSI.
The PSSI chief from 1999-2003 also said that FIFA requested him to take an organizational sanction against those who were considered responsible for heating up the May 20 congress in Jakarta before it ended in disarray.
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