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As PSSI calls off soccer leagues, players ponder futures
PSSI should be able to make sure that players are legally and financially protected during the hiatus
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Ibrahim Sanjaya (center), of Indonesia top-league Liga 1’s Persik Kediri soccer club, steals the ball during a training session at Brawijaya Stadium in Kediri, East Java on Oct. 14, 2020. (Antara/Prasetia Fauzani)
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ndonesian Soccer Players Association (APPI) chief Ponaryo Astaman acknowledged that even though it had been hard to face, the Soccer Association of Indonesia’s (PSSI) decision to cancel the country’s premier and second-tier tournaments, Liga 1 and 2, was no surprise given the rising number of COVID-19 cases.
Most of the players, he went on, had been bracing for a cancellation since the start of the pandemic in Indonesia in March last year. They are now eager to find out what’s next for them in terms of competitions, which remains unclear, he added.
“It was tough news, but we finally got some certainty out of this absurd situation, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic,” Ponaryo told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.
PSSI chief Mochamad Iriawan recently announced the cancellation of 2020-2021 competitions, citing the pandemic as the main reason. Adding to that reason was the National Police’s refusal to grant clubs the permission to play matches.
“The decision is a follow up of an earlier recommendation from club owners who wanted the leagues to be canceled,” he said as quoted on the PSSI’s website.
League operator PT Liga Indonesia Baru president director Akhmad Hadian Lukita said the majority of club owners had opted to discontinue the 2020-2021 season and throw all their focus on organizing the next tournaments.
Commenting on this, Ponaryo warned that the PSSI’s decision to use force majeure — the pandemic — as its main reason for the cancellation would bring some legal consequences, especially for the players.
