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span class="inline inline-left">Slippery tussle: Semen Padang striker Estaban Viscara (center) fights for the ball against two Persebaya players during an Indonesian Premier League match in Surabaya, East Java, on Sunday. Padang beat Persebaya 1-0. Antara/ Arif Ariadi The Indonesian Soccer Association (PSSI) held a meeting on Monday concerning the state of the national team without the presence of the current national senior head coach Wim Rijsbergen.

“Wim has been absent [from the team] since [the match against] Qatar. He has had blood tests twice since then but he remains ill. Thus, it was better to send him back to the Netherlands,” national soccer team coordinator Bob Hippy was quoted as saying by tempointeraktif.com on Monday.

Indonesia’s latest 2014 World Cup Asian qualifier Group E match against Qatar was on Nov. 11 in Doha, where the host team crushed Indonesia 4-0. With a remaining match against Bahrain in February next year, Indonesia is rooted to the bottom of the group and has lost its chance to qualify for the 2014 World Cup.

Bob said that the PSSI had given permission for the 59-year-old Dutch coach to undergo a medical examination in his home country after a holiday in Bali, when Rijsbergen came home with complaints of intestinal problems.

At the Monday meeting, which was chaired by PSSI chairman Djohar Arifin Husin, Rijsbergen’s assistant Liestiadi was present, along with Under-23 team head coach Rahmad Darmawan and his two assistants Widodo C. Putro and Aji Santoso.

Bob dismissed rumors that the replacement of Rijsbergen was the main agenda of the two-day meeting. “We were discussing [the national team] for the next four years and evaluating,” said Bob, who nonetheless did not rule out the possibility of replacing Risjbergen with Rahmad, who has recently risen in popularity since coaching the U-23 squad to a SEA Games silver medal.

Rahmad himself hinted that he might resign from his national coaching post due to the PSSI’s prevention of players playing in ISL from joining the national team. “In this situation, we shouldn’t have sacrificed the players. Taking care of small clubs might be more comfortable than coaching big teams facing too many restrictions,” said Rahmad, who had already received coaching invitations from three clubs, including Pelita Jaya.

Bob said that Monday’s meeting was held at the residence of business tycoon Arifin Panigoro in South Jakarta because the PSSI hoped to avoid any disturbances after last week’s protest held by supporters of Persipura Jayapura at the PSSI headquarters in Senayan. Persipura’s fans are holding the PSSI responsible for the Asian Football Confederation’s (AFC) decision to prevent Persipura from competing in the Asian Champions League (ACL).

Djohar acknowledged that the PSSI itself had recommended that Persipura be banned from the ACL because the club had crossed over to play in the Indonesian Super League (ISL), the national league that is currently unsanctioned by the PSSI. Persipura was previously registered in the PSSI-sanctioned Indonesian Premier League (IPL) before it made the move to the ISL. Djohar also prohibited players who appeared for their clubs in the ISL from joining the national team. Some of Rahmad Darmawan’s U-23 team’s rising stars, such as striker Patrich Wanggai, are currently playing in the ISL.

Patrich, the top scorer for the national team during the 26th SEA Games, had previously expressed his hope for a single national soccer league in the country, although he remains firmly with the decision of his club, Persidafon Dafonsoro, to leave the IPL and compete in the breakaway ISL instead. “I truly hope for a single league in Indonesia. I believe that the leaders of the PSSI have to decide on this one league. However, I go along with my club’s decision on which league I have to play,” said Wanggai recently.

Although the PSSI does not approve the existence of ISL , according to Djohar, PSSI is still unable to intervene the league that has started competition since early December. “We are waiting for FIFA’s command,” said Djohar as quoted by kompas.com on Monday.

Meanwhile, as many as 40 clubs held a meeting on Sunday in Surabaya, East Java, to consolidate plans to host the PSSI Extraordinary Congress on Dec. 17-19 in Jakarta to resolve the domestic league situation. The 40 clubs include ISL clubs such as Persela, Arema, and Deltras, as well as representatives from the lower primary division and the first, second and third divisions.