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upporters of West Java-based soccer club Pelita Jaya expressed their discontent toward former player Diego Michiels, by brandishing cynical posters at the Singaperbangsa Stadium on Thursday, when they hosted PSMS Medan. Diego recently abruptly ended his contract with the club,

“We are very disappointed and angry with Diego Michiels for resigning,” Pelita supporters’ (P-Man) coordinator Medi said, as quoted by pelitamania.com.

He said that Diego’s fans at Pelita were upset and felt let down by his sudden decision.

“Before he got into the national team, Diego was a Pelita Jaya player. We really regret the way Diego Michiels has treated Pelita Jaya,” he said.

Diego cited his desire to continue playing for the Indonesian national team as his reason for leaving Pelita Jaya, which competes in the Indonesian Super League (ISL). The Indonesian Soccer Association (PSSI) has deemed the league illegal and had earlier warned that participating players would not be selected for the national team.

The Dutch-born player has now signed for Persija IPL and will play in the legally accepted Indonesian Premier League (IPL).

Diego rose to stardom after a set of sterling performances for the nation’s Under-23 squad at the recent Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, where they won the silver medal.

Due to the controversy, Diego was absent on Friday from Persija’s training for their ISL match on Saturday against Arema Indonesia at the Manahan Stadium in Surakarta.

“We are still unsure whether Diego can come,” said Persija coach Jaya Hartono as quoted by kompas.com.

Pelita club manager, Lalu Mara, reported Diego’s resignation to the Indonesian Professional Sports Body (BOPI) on Thursday. BOPI chairman Gordon Mogot later commented that the report should not have been directed to BOPI because Pelita Jaya was not regarded as a professional club. “They should have reported the problem to the Indonesian Sports Council [KONI],” said Gordon.