PSSI says Djafar acted alone in referee scam<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): All-Indonesian Soccer Federation (PSSI) chairman
\nAzwar Anas said that Djafar Umar, deputy chairman of the referee
\ncommittee, orchestrated the match-fixing racket involving
\nreferees and local soccer clubs alone.<\/p>\n
\"There are no other parties involved in organizing the
\ncollusion. Djafar ran the racket himself,\" Azwar, quoted by
\nAntara, said during a meeting with PSSI officials Thursday.<\/p>\n
Djafar has been sacked and banned from refereeing for 20 years
\nby the PSSI. Amran YS is the committee's chairman.<\/p>\n
Azwar said that the PSSI wants to rid the game of the practice
\nand has set up a team to thoroughly investigate the incident. The
\nteam is headed by Adang Ruchiyatna.<\/p>\n
Djafar has sent a personal letter to PSSI apologizing for the
\nmisuse of his authority as the referee committee deputy chairman,
\nAzwar said.<\/p>\n
If it is felt that there are sufficient grounds to bring
\nDjafar before a court, the PSSI investigative team will assist
\nthe police with further inquiries, he added.<\/p>\n
The issue of who masterminded the racket is still an open
\nquestion. A number of soccer observers have stated their belief
\nthat others were involved in the scheme.<\/p>\n
Djafar is on the record as having said that the names of
\nreferees for Indonesian league matches are always checked by
\nNugraha Besoes, the PSSI secretary.<\/p>\n
Nugraha confirmed that all committee actions must be cleared
\nby him, including the choice of referees, and expressed surprise
\nat the dishonesty of his former colleague.<\/p>\n
\"Routine administration in the PSSI is carried out by the
\nsecretary. Programs and plans are developed by committees which
\nwork under the secretary. At first I trusted Djafar to determine
\nwhich referees were put on duty because I considered all
\nofficials on the federation's board to have integrity,\" Nugraha
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Stop fixtures<\/p>\n
Julius Raja from the PSSI North Sumatra office in Medan has
\nurged the federation to postpones league fixtures until the case
\nis finally closed.<\/p>\n
\"If the PSSI wants to clear out the refereeing mafia, it is
\nbest that all league matches are stopped. We should look at
\nMalaysia, who cleared bribery out of soccer,\" Julius said
\nWednesday. Julius is an active member of the PSMS Medan club.<\/p>\n
He doubted that the league competition would be received
\nfavorably by the public until the collusion case was settled.<\/p>\n
Julius added that to punish Djafar alone was unfair. Officials
\nwho worked closely with him should also be sanctioned.<\/p>\n
\"I believe there are many honest and competent referees in
\nIndonesia. The problem is that they are not given the opportunity
\nto officiate in leading matches,\" Julius said. (lnt)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/pssi-says-djafar-acted-alone-in-referee-scam-1447893297",
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