Security upped for final game in Senayan

Security upped for final game in Senayan

With hooliganism blighting national soccer games once again this year, international security standards will be in place for Sunday's Indonesian League finals.

Thousands of police will be on hand for the third place playoff and final games, with careful efforts made to keep supporters from rival teams apart in Senayan, Central Jakarta.

"People want to see a sporting soccer match. I don't want to see a match marked by ignorant behavior," secretary-general of the Indonesian Soccer Association (PSSI) Nugraha Besoes said on Saturday.

He added that team officials were responsible for instilling the need to for good behavior among players because the match would represent the country to the world.

PSSI officials also met with operations chief Sr. Comr. Komang Udayana of the City Police on Saturday to decide on security measures.

"According to our meeting, about 3,000 policemen will be ready to secure Senayan area," said PSSI's security commission Ashar Soerjobroto.

He added that coordinators of supporters of each team were involved in the meeting.

Supporters of Persija Jakarta will enter the stadium from gate 2 to 6, PSIS Semarang from the East VIP gate, Persipura Papua gate 7 and PSMS Medan gate 8.

PSIS takes on PSMS in the third place playoff at 3 p.m., followed by the Persipura-Persija final at 6 p.m.

In the most recent incident of soccer violence, supporters of Persebaya Surabaya and PSM Makassar clashed on Sept. 16. At least five Persebaya supporters, one police officer and one soldier were injured in the violence. (004)