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.