PSSI hands axed five four-month suspension

PSSI hands axed five four-month suspension

Zakki Hakim, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Soccer Association of Indonesia (PSSI) has disciplined
five players by suspending them from the national team for four
months.

Mukti Ali Radja and Djet Donal La'ala of Persija Jakarta,
Kurniawan Dwi Julianto of Persebaya Surabaya, I Putu Gde of Arema
Malang and Isnan Ali of Persikota Tangerang were deemed to have
violated disciplinary ethics ahead of the team's trip to Kuala
Lumpur for a friendly game.

They were dropped from the team, which was held to a 0-0 draw
by the Malaysian team, and PSSI further decided in Friday's
meeting that the punishment deserved to be extended to a four-
month suspension.

This means that the five players will have no chance of
possible inclusion in the Indonesian team for the Asian Cup in
China in July.

While the players are already enduring the disgrace of being
suspended from the team, PSSI still hopes that the clubs
concerned will further punish their players.

"We return the players to their clubs, and expect them to be
properly punished at home," the association's secretary-general
Nugraha Besoes said, after the meeting of PSSI officials and club
representatives at PSSI headquarters.

PSSI chairman Nurdin Khalid, who has just returned from his
leave of absence for election campaign duty, was present at the
meeting along with his aides, national team manager Andi
Darussalam Tabussala and national team chief M. Zein.

Meanwhile, Satrija Budi Wibawa, from Arema Malang, said that
Putu Gde had expressed regret over his conduct.

"As Arema's captain, he realizes that he should be a role
model for others. To punish himself, he asked the club to
sanction him," Satrija said, but refused to elaborate on the
exact punishment that the club would mete out.

Persija manager IGK Manila said that the dismissal of the
players was a disgrace for the team. He said that the Jakarta-
based club had no problem with further disciplining its unruly
players.