Erick Thohir Responds to Persib Supporter Unrest After AFC Champions League Match Against Ratchaburi FC
Indonesia’s Minister of Youth and Sports, Erick Thohir, has broken his silence on the incident involving a group of Persib Bandung supporters who invaded the pitch following an AFC Champions League Two match against Ratchaburi FC at the Gelora Bandung Lautan Api Stadium on Wednesday, 18 February 2026.
Erick adopted a cautious approach in responding to the events. He said the wisest course of action would be to await an official ruling from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), the tournament’s organiser.
“What I can say is that incidents like these need to be anticipated. But we should wait for the AFC’s own assessment. There is certainly a higher authority here, and I would prefer not to comment before any sanctions are formally imposed,” Erick said in Jakarta on Friday.
The incident also drew comment from Persib head coach Bojan Hodak, who expressed regret at the actions of a small number of individuals whom he said had tarnished the broader reputation of the Bobotoh, Persib’s fanbase, long known for their discipline and support.
“There were perhaps around 30,000 supporters here, and 29,900 of them were fantastic. It’s not easy playing here — if you recall the match against Bangkok United, we struggled in the first half. You could also see that Ratchaburi found it difficult to play here, and that was an advantage for us,” Hodak said.
“But there were a hundred people who ruined it. They came for their own personal interests. Because we could be fined because of a hundred people, or even fewer than a hundred. They terrorised everyone,” he added.
A number of spectators were reported to have entered the pitch area after the final whistle. Video circulating on social media showed several individuals chasing visiting team players as they made their way to the dressing room. A photographer from the Ratchaburi camp was also reportedly kicked during the melee.
The actions triggered a wave of public anger online. Although Persib won the match 1-0 against the Thai side, the result was not enough to see the Maung Bandung through to the next round, as they lost 1-3 on aggregate in the round of 16 of the ACL Two.