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Match-fixing scandal hits soccer league, police advised to step in
Rigged: Hidayat (right), a member of the Soccer Association of Indonesia’s (PSSI) executive committee suspected of being involved in match fixing, speaks at a press conference in Jakarta on Monday
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igged: Hidayat (right), a member of the Soccer Association of Indonesia’s (PSSI) executive committee suspected of being involved in match fixing, speaks at a press conference in Jakarta on Monday.(BolaSport/M. Hary Prasetya)
A match-fixing scandal implicating Soccer Association of Indonesia (PSSI) top brass has tarnished the country’s already tainted image in soccer.
The PSSI’s disciplinary committee sanctioned on Tuesday Hidayat, a member of the association’s executive committee, after he was found guilty of attempting to bribe Madura FC coach Januar Herwanto.
Hidayat, who announced his resignation two days before he was sanctioned, was banned from participating in any soccer-related activities for three years. He was also fined Rp 150 million (US$10,414.5) for attempting to persuade Madura FC to let PSS Sleman win a match between the two sides. The soccer clubs are both in Liga 2, the country’s second-tier soccer league.
PSSI deputy chairman Joko Driyono told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday his party would use the case as an opportunity to fix problems within the association.
He said the PSSI was greatly concerned about the match fixing and trying to provide solutions to preventing such cases from happening in the future.
“Dealing with such cases is actually very simple. We need to strengthen the role of the PSSI’s disciplinary committee,” he said.
“This will be used to look at the urgent issues,” he added, noting that the PSSI would focus on the issue at its annual congress in January next year.
Responding to the issue, sports observer Anton Sanjoyo said the sanction given to Hidayat was quite light considering his previous status as a member of the executive committee and one who should have been responsible for developing the sport.
He emphasized the importance of removing match fixing from the game, saying it was a chronic issue within the association.
“The PSSI should impose a heavier sanction, such as a life ban from all soccer-related activities. The idea of sportsmanship must also be instilled at an early age […],” he told the Post.
Insp. Gen. (ret) Benny Mamoto, a legal expert from the University of Indonesia and former police detective, said he expected the PSSI to file a lawsuit.
“This has been a serious concern. Match fixing could destroy public trust. Besides, there are obvious indications of crimes behind such cases, like gambling and fraud. It would be better for them to take this case to the police themselves,” he said.
The police, he further said, could look deeper into gambling in soccer to identify other parties that may have been involved. He also encouraged those who had seen indications of match fixing to step forward and file a lawsuit.
“The spectators have paid for tickets to watch a fair match and not some match that has a predetermined winner,” Benny said.
The match-fixing scandal is not the first of its kind in the country. In a Liga 2 match between PSS Sleman and PSIS Semarang on Oct. 26, 2014, the two sides scored five own goals, allegedly to avoid facing Borneo FC in a semifinal. The match ended 3-2 in favor of PSS Sleman and several players incurred a lifetime ban.
