I

ndonesian soccer league clubs have lamented the Soccer Association of Indonesia'€™s (PSSI) decision to cancel all soccer competitions this year, including the Indonesian Super League.

'€œWe deplore the cancellation, but we are not blaming the PSSI because it is not at fault. It'€™s the youth and sports minister who is to blame,'€ PSM Makassar technical director Sumirlan told The Jakarta Post in Makassar, South Sulawesi, on Sunday.

The PSSI announced the league'€™s cancellation on Saturday, citing the factor of force majeure in the wake of the ministry'€™s move to suspend the PSSI on April 17 as acrimony between two institutions reached a peak over club eligibility.

The Youth and Sports Ministry, through the Indonesian Professional Sports Body (BOPI), had banned clubs Persebaya Surabaya and Arema Indonesia from the Indonesian Super League (ISL) due to ownership disputes but the PSSI eschewed the recommendations and continued to allow the two clubs in the 18-club league.

With the PSSI being suspended, the ministry was planning to form a transition team tasked with running the league, until the PSSI moved on Saturday to stop all soccer competitions.

Sumirlan said that the stoppage was disadvantageous not only for soccer clubs but also for the soccer community.

He said PSM Makassar would incur a loss of Rp 10 billion as it still had to pay players, coaches and the cost of renovation work on the Andi Mattalatta Mattoangin Stadium.

He lamented the acrimony between the PSSI and the ministry, saying that the two should have sat together to seek a solution without the ministry needing to suspend the PSSI and request that the police not issue a match permit.

In Bandung, West Java, Persib manager Djadjang Nurdjaman said that the unpopular policy from the PSSI had made all of his club'€™s preparations for the league in vain.

'€œIt should be regretted while we are ready [for the league]. We have worked out our preparations but [the league] has stopped that way,'€ he said.

Persib, along with Persipura, will not face a lull at all as they are currently involved in the AFC Cup. Both clubs are one step away from advancing to the round of 16.

The CEO of PT Persib Bandung Bermatabat (PBB), Kuswara S. Taryono, said that the club'€™s management would talk over the stoppage issue before taking an official stance over the PSSI decision.

Meanwhile, the management of Persis Solo, a club in the lower division, also said that it planned to talk over the issue before deciding whether to dissolve the club or to join another competition outside the PSSI.

'€œWe will wait to see the developments from the PSSI decision. However, it looks impossible to dismiss the club,'€ president director of PT Persis Solo Saestu, Paulus Haryoto, said.

He said they were both disappointed and at a loss to understand the PSSI decision.

'€œHopefully, there is light at the end of tunnel. That can be from the minister or the PSSI, so that we can continue the competition,'€ he said.
____________________

'€” Andi Hajramurni in Makassar, Arya Dipa in Bandung and Ganug Nugroho Adi in Surakarta contributed to this story.