Indonesian referees urged to 'improve their morality'

Indonesian referees urged to 'improve their morality'

JAKARTA (JP): With a salary hike as the carrot and potentially severe punishment as the stick, the chairman of the All Indonesia Soccer Association (PSSI), Azwar Anas, is urging Indonesian referees and match inspectors to "improve their morality".

"I hope you will steadily improve your morality so that the quality of your game administering wiil gradually get better," Azwar told a pack of referees and match inspectors at PSSI headquarters in Senayan on Saturday.

To improve referee discipline, PSSI "has raised their salaries in the hope that they will no longer make a breach in the games they administer," Azwar was quoted by Antara as saying.

However, the national news agency does not specify what Azwar meant by "making a breach." It reported Azwar as saying that during the two-month old Indonesian League competition, "we have caught 10 referees, three of whom were dismissed while the other seven were demoted to linesmen." Antara also did not give the reasons why the 10 referees were reprimanded.

"Formerly, referees were paid Rp 25,000 (US$11.3) per game, which was then raised to Rp 65,000 per game. Now, with the birth of the Indonesian League, referees can count on taking home at least Rp 350,000 ($158.3) per game," Azwar elaborated.

In addition, referees are also entitled to insurance coverage, said Azwar, who is also Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare.

"Thus, they should not worry too much if an accident happens to them while administering a game," he added. (arf)