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ts recommendations having gone unheeded, the Youth and Sports Ministry has officially asked the police to refuse match permits for Persebaya Surabaya and Arema Indonesia for the clubs'€™ next fixtures.

Persebaya and Arema have both played two matches since the beginning of the season, a blatant breach of the ministry'€™s recommendations, through the Indonesian Professional Sports Body (BOPI), that the two clubs not be allowed to participate in the QNB Indonesian premier soccer league because of legal issues.

Ministerial aide on development and partnership Gatot S Dewabroto announced that the letter was sent to the National Police on Wednesday, a day after the ministry warned of stern measures against the Indonesian Soccer Association (PSSI) and league administrator PT Liga Indonesia if the two clubs remained in the competition.

'€œAs a follow-up to the minister'€™s reprimand letter sent to the PSSI on Wednesday, we issued another letter asking the police not to issue crowd permits to the two clubs,'€ Gatot told journalists on Thursday.

The ministry warned PSSI on Wednesday that it would revoke its organizational and sport activity permits if it did not act on the recommendations with seven days.

PSSI responded to the warning by holding a meeting.

'€œWe are holding a meeting with all management members, the executive committee and Liga Indonesia regarding the letter,'€ said chairman Djohar Arifin on PSSI'€™s official website.

He added that he did not want to prolong the conflict because '€œnobody would benefit from it'€.

BOPI, a supervisory arm of the ministry, ruled Persebaya and Arema ineligible to participate in the 2015 Indonesia Soccer League (ISL), recently renamed the QNB league, as the clubs'€™ management had yet to clear their ownership status.

However, PSSI and PT Liga Indonesia ignored the recommendation and included the two clubs in the QNB league, which kicked off on April 4.

Arema was held to a 4-4 draw by Persija on the first day of the season, and triumphed 1-0 over Barito Putera on Tuesday. The results placed the Malang-based club in fourth position in the provisional standings.

Persebaya won 1-0 in its first match against Mitra Kukar before being held to a 1-1 draw by Pusamania Borneo FC.

'€œWe don'€™t want to see the government ignored by anyone who lives in this country. We have sent them [Arema and Persebaya] reprimand letters as a first step. If they persist, we will issue administrative punishments,'€member of soccer reform team Oegroseno said.

Arema has reportedly cancelled upcoming away matches against Mitra Kukar and Pusamania Borneo FC in Kalimantan while waiting for instructions from the PSSI. The matches are slated to be held on April 12 and April 15, respectively.

'€œI have just been told this morning [about the cancelation]. We are surprised and we have to reschedule all our training schedules and programs,'€ coach Suharno said as quoted by Antara.

From Surabaya, PT Mitra Muda Inti Berlian (MMIB), which manages Persebaya, has been sued by rival PT Persebaya Indonesia for legal violations.

PT Persebaya Indonesia lawyer Sunarno Edy Wibowo said that the case prosecution had been scheduled for May 12 at the state court.

'€œWe are ready and hopeful that prosecution goes smoothly for the good of Persebaya,'€ he said.

Sunarno added that PT Persebaya Indonesia had been founded to manage Persebaya, while MMIB had been formed as a contractor company.

But MMIB, he went on, had registered another club to PSSI using the name Persebaya, and PT Persebaya Indonesia has since been robbed of its right to manage the club.

In a related development, the Surabaya Police have acquitted former Persebaya and Arema player Johan Ibo of bribery allegations.

Johan was apprehended by the police on Tuesday following reports that he had attempted to bribe Pusamania players '€” through text messages '€” to concede the match to Persebaya.

Police spokesperson Comr. Widarnoko said that Johan had been freed because no evidence had been found to pursue the case.