Govt will ban soccer league if necessary

Govt will ban soccer league if necessary

JAKARTA (JP): The government will suspend the on-going
national soccer league if spectator hooliganism continues,
Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Hayono Isman said yesterday.

Speaking at the meeting with the All Indonesia Football
Association (PSSI), Hayono said that the suspension would be
taken to give both soccer administrators and fans time to regain
the order.

"The government will have to take anticipatory action if
hooliganism remains a trend," Hayono was quoted by his assistant
Imam Suyudi as saying.

Hayono, who failed to attend the press conference which
followed the one-and-a-quarter hour talk with the PSSI officials,
assured fans that "soccer will not be banned and nobody can
eliminate soccer from the country."

The PSSI Secretary General Soeparjo Pontjowinoto, the league's
administrator Agum Gumelar and the PSSI's official in charge of
the national team, Nirwan Bakrie, were also present at the
meeting, which was held behind closed doors. The sports figures
gathered at the PSSI secretariat for a fast breaking.

Hayono gave the PSSI a rap over the knuckles with his threat
to stop the three-month league, which comes after the death of
Surabaya supporter Suhermansyah during a riot after a Persebaya-
PSIM match at the Mandala Krida stadium, Yogyakarta, on Jan. 28.
Suhermansyah, a 40-year-old father of three was trampled to
death. He was the first person to die as a result of sport-
related violence in Indonesia's history.

But Hayono's absence from the press conference clearly
disappointed a throng of journalists who had expected to hear him
elaborate on his controversial remarks. "Let the PSSI explain the
outcome of our discussion," said Hayono before getting into a
waiting car.

Soeparjo acted as Hayono's spokesman during the conference.

Agum, whose relaxed posture managed to cool down the
disappointed journalists, said that the PSSI accepted Hayono's
criticism with pleasure. He said the PSSI was preparing further
steps to prevent such a riot from happening again.

"A suspension is no longer necessary since the league has a
month of rest due to the fasting month," said Agum. He agreed
that suspending the league would be suspended only as a last
resort.

"The PSSI has been making every effort to curb hooliganism,"
he said, adding that the national soccer body would be planning
future cooperation with local security forces during the one-
month break.

He said that on the basis of its investigation into the
Yogyakarta incident, the PSSI was deliberating on punitive
measures to be taken against both Persebaya and PSIM for their
failure to keep order at the match.

"Sanctions will be announced on Thursday," Agum said. However,
he refused to disclose what the punishment would be. "Please be
patient. Remember that this is the holy fasting month," he said.

Agum indicated that according to PSSI rules, the soccer body
could ban a club from competition, remove a match to a neutral
site or order a host team to stage a match at an empty site. "In
short, sanctions are aimed to educate, not to destroy the guilty
club," he said. (amd)