Club plays tit-for-tat amid eligibility brouhaha
Club plays tit-for-tat amid eligibility brouhaha
Musthofid, The Jakarta Post/Yogyakarta
The club at the center of a player eligibility dispute at the
National Badminton Championships here countered on Wednesday that
officials were playing favorites in ignoring violations by other
teams.
Mutiara Bandung crushed Elang 5-0 on the opening day's play on
Tueady, but the result was disallowed on Wednesday after one of
the club's doubles players, Enroe, was deemed ineligible to play
for the Bandung-based club.
"Mutiara failed to provide the transfer letter confirming
Enroe's move from Luvase to Mutiara," tournament referee Juniarto
Suhandinata said of the decision.
Enroe formerly played for Tangkas Bogasari Jakarta, of which
Juniarto is the vice chairman, but he resigned in April last
year, saying he would play for little-known Luvase.
Tangkas is not among the 33 clubs participating in the
tournament at the Amongrogo sports hall. A tournament for junior
players is also concurrently underway at the AMP YKPN sports
hall.
In another player eligibility dispute, organizers also changed
AMP YKPN's 4-1 win over MKS Singaraja of Bali to a 0-5 loss.
However, the player in question, Dian Novitasari, has since
been cleared to play after her club produced proof of her
transfer.
Mutiara officials complain they have been singled out for
punishment, arguing that several players in other clubs have
unclear status.
"We hate mentioning others who have unclear status, but we
have no option because we have received unfair treatment from the
referee," Mutiara official Sian Sugiarto said as he held a list
of about 40 players he alleged violated transfer rules.
Sian said players should be given freedom to choose the club
they want to play for.
"Enroe has quit Tangkas, that's clear. To play for Mutiara
should be regarded as the player's choice and that should be
respected. If they question Enroe's status, why don't they apply
the same (standard) to other players?"
Sian alleged that Elang fielded ineligible players Sofyan and
Gunawan. "And Gunawan has already admitted his unclear status
with the club."
Budi Santoso and Emma Ermawati, former national players now
playing for Mutiara, questioned how the eligibility verifying
committee of the Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI) failed
to determine Enroe's status.
"How could it happen? The verifying team should have informed
us about Enroe's ineligibility beforehand, and then we would not
have played him and had our victory canceled," Budi, a 2002 All
England men's singles finalist, said.
Mudjiono, a member of the verifying team, did not deny the
possibility of other ineligible players inadvertently passing the
selection process.
"It could happen because some players have been registered
under different names. And it is difficult for us to avoid those
turning up in the tournament."
With the reversed result, Mutiara's chances of advancing from
Group F to the quarterfinals are slim. Another club in the group
is Putera Bengawan of Central Java, but Tadulako Palu of Central
Sulawesi defaulted from the competition after an earthquake hit
its area on Sunday.
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