Jakarta fans barred from match in Surabaya

Jakarta fans barred from match in Surabaya

ID Nugroho, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya

Supporters of Persija Jakarta have been barred from entering
Surabaya for fears that they could trigger a riot with local
supporters of Persebaya.

The Persebaya-Persija meeting on Thursday at the Tambaksari
Stadium will be the last and decisive match in the Indonesian
premier soccer league.

But Persija will not have the support of their fans.

"We deeply regret that we had to ban Jakarta supporters from
entering Surabaya to watch the match, but the conditions are just
too risky," Wisnu Sakti Buana, the chairman of the organizing
committee, said.

Information sources said that thousands of "The Jak Mania", as
Jakarta supporters are known, have already arrived in Kediri, 85
kilometers south of Surabaya. But the ban has prevented them from
continuing their trip to Surabaya. Some have decided to return
home.

Persija manager IGK Manila deplored the ban. "It's deplorable.
They deserve to support their team. Why can't they?" Manila
questioned.

Despite being deprived of supporters, Manila said, that his
players would not lose their spirit in the match.

"This will be not the first time we've played without
supporters...therefore we are still optimistic about this match,"
he said during the team's training session in Gresik.

Only a win, and some help from PSMS Medan will do for
Persebaya for them to win the league championship. Persebaya is
currently in second place with 58 points behind Persija with 60
points.

Wisnu said that around 1,200 security members, equipped with
12 sniffer dogs, would be deployed inside and outside the
stadium.

PSM, which hosts PSMS Medan in Makassar on the same day, can
also win its game to collect an overall 61 points, but PSM has
far inferior goal margin compared to that of Persebaya.