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PSSI asked to reveal match data
Activists have slammed the Soccer Association of Indonesia (PSSI) for its lack of transparency in regard to its match data and have called on the federation to update the public on its internal investigations into match-rigging, as scandal continues to plague the sport
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span>Activists have slammed the Soccer Association of Indonesia (PSSI) for its lack of transparency in regard to its match data and have called on the federation to update the public on its internal investigations into match-rigging, as scandal continues to plague the sport.
The PSSI has collaborated with sports data and technology company Genius Sport since 2017 to crack down on match-fixing schemes, which have long tainted Indonesian soccer. The company has set up a system to monitor soccer games and alert the PSSI whenever a match is suspected of being rigged.
Akmal Marhali, the chairman of Save Our Soccer (SOS), an NGO that monitors Indonesian soccer, questioned why the PSSI had not transparently updated the public on its internal investigation results following the collaboration with Genius Sport, despite allegations that match-fixing is a widespread practice.
“If the Genius Sport data was revealed, I am sure all [perpetrators of match-fixing] could be arrested,” Akmal said in a discussion with the Jakarta Police recently.
“Unfortunately it has only become a tool for PSSI image building, to appear that they are safeguarding competitions from dirty practices.”
Genius Sport monitors matches in real time and it flags any suspicious activity before sending the results to the federation, which then follows up through an internal investigation. The company also monitors online betting, which is often associated as a gateway to match-fixing. Besides Genius Sport, the PSSI has reportedly collaborated with a similar data company called Sport Radar.
“We haven’t seen the results of the collaboration yet […] and the service is not free of charge,” Kesit Handoyo, a soccer observer, told The Jakarta Post. “If there was that collaboration, why has the PSSI not published the results? In fact, it is the police’s Anti-Soccer Mafia Task Force that has revealed the match-fixing.”
Genius Sport published on its website in June last year that it had collaborated with the PSSI “to help protect its competitions from the threat of match-fixing”.
PSSI acting chairman Gusti Randa told the Post in an interview recently that the results it had received from Genius Sport were in the form of match results and that it was not an easy task to determine if a particular game had been rigged.
Gusti said that even if a game initially appeared to have been manipulated it could turn out not to be foul play but simply the result of the run of play, whereby a team takes legitimate advantage over its opponent because of a factor in the match such as a player getting a red card.
“For example, in a game between team A and B, two players from team A get red cards, can we say directly whether this is manipulation or simply a sporting advantage [for team B]?” Gusti asked.
Earlier, PSSI secretary general Ratu Tisha said the association’s disciplinary committee had followed up some of the reports from Genius Radar and she said the PSSI stood ready to share match data with the police whenever it was required.
The National Police formed its soccer task force in December to probe allegations of match manipulation in Indonesian soccer. A total of 16 individuals have been named suspects so far, including Joko Driyono, a former PSSI acting chairman.
While the other suspects have been charged with bribery, Joko Driyono has been suspected of rigging evidence after police previously searched his apartment. Following the task force investigation, many soccer enthusiasts have pushed for reform of the PSSI to improve the national team.
The PSSI plans an extraordinary congress to vote for a new chairman but the date is not yet to be announced.
The police said recently that it was still possible that other individuals could be named suspects.
