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Analysis: Indonesia played political football and lost, and now faces big penalty
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A number of U-23 national team players are seen training ahead of a friendly match with Iran's U-23 national team at the Ocean Kuta Bali field in November 2019. (JP/Zul Trio Anggono / Adi / 19)
I
ndonesia lost its right to host the soccer U-20 World Cup tournament less than two months before kick-off because of a domestic controversy about the participation of Israel, with which it is has no diplomatic ties.
FIFA, the soccer governing body, announced its decision on Wednesday, ignoring last-minute lobbying by the government of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to salvage the event. In the announcement on its website, FIFA cited “current circumstances” without making any direct references to the boiling controversy in Indonesia about Israel taking part.
The tournament, involving 24 countries, will now be moved elsewhere, but the dates May 20 – June 11 will likely remain. Argentina, winner of last year’s World Cup tournament, is in contention to take over, as are Peru and Brazil, both of which lost their bid to host the event to Indonesia in 2019.
Besides losing the right to automatic participation in the tournament as the host nation, Indonesia now faces sanctions from FIFA, including the possibility of being banned from participating at FIFA-sanctioned events.
This is a big slap in the face for President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, who had given his personal attention to ensure Indonesia succeeded in hosting the event. Indonesia already submitted bids to host the World Cup and the Olympics in the 2030s, but this latest episode will likely raise questions about its credentials to host major international events.
The controversy only surfaced in the last two weeks, although Indonesia had known of Israel’s participation as far back as June when the Jewish state became one of the early qualifiers for the U-20 tournament. The government then guaranteed FIFA Israel could participate in the event and that its national team and supporters would be given adequate security protections.
Opposition to Israel’s participation had been minimal and manageable, but changed when I Wayan Koster, the governor of Bali, which houses one of the six soccer stadiums designated for the tournament, rejected the presence of the Israeli national team in Bali. The predominantly Hindu province had been named as the location to accommodate the Israeli team.
