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nstead of receiving a birthday present, on its 85th anniversary the Indonesian Soccer Association (PSSI) had its activities suspended last Saturday after Youth and Sports Minister Imam Nahrawi found the national soccer governing body had failed to heed a recommendation from the Indonesian Professional Sports Body (BOPI) to ban the troubled Persebaya Surabaya and Arema Indonesia clubs from participating in the QNB League '€” Indonesia'€™s premier soccer league.

Although Imam has ensured the suspension will not affect the league and Indonesia'€™s participation in all competitions under the auspices of FIFA, the world soccer body may rule otherwise if it deems the minister'€™s move constitutes a government intervention into PSSI'€™s internal affairs. At stake will be the national soccer team'€™s bid to compete in the upcoming Southeast Asian (SEA) Games as well as the prospects of the two Indonesian clubs now playing in the Asia Champions League.

Indonesia missing regional and international soccer competitions is unimaginable, although the national team has never won any laurels since winning the 1991 SEA Games gold medal.

To a certain degree the suspension is a reminder for the PSSI to uphold the principles of professionalism in administering a league that is expected to serve as an ideal ground for it to select the best players to represent the country in international events and for local talent to get exposed to high-level competition.

The government had three times written to the PSSI asking it to drop Persebaya and Arema Indonesia from the league because of their ownership conflicts, but the warnings fell on deaf ears. While refusing to acknowledge the new lineup of the PSSI board of executives under La Nyalla Mattalitti, the government will form an interim board whose job is to prepare for an election to fill the PSSI chair position.

It seems the current government is unhappy with the election of La Nyalla as the new PSSI boss, probably given his long-time ambition for the top PSSI post. In 2012 he held a breakaway congress to challenge the then PSSI chief Djohar Arifin, although afterward the government managed to reconcile the two camps and let them run the soccer body together.

The dispute and the previous conflicts plaguing the PSSI only show a competition of interests within the national soccer body, at the expense of the sport'€™s development. The absence of sincerity in building a strong national soccer team has resulted in, among other things, ignorance of fair play on the part of clubs as is evident in the farcical match to avoid a win between PSIS Semarang and PSS Sleman last year and some match-fixing practices.

We fear suspension is not the right remedy. It will instead aggravate the problem, now that the PSSI will challenge the minister'€™s policy in court. To comprehensively settle the PSSI fiasco, it will be better for the government and the PSSI to talk in a forum that involves all national soccer stakeholders.