Soccer body wants gracious losers

Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Soccer Association of Indonesia (PSSI) has called on teams in the semifinals of the Bank Mandiri premier league championship to display sportsmanship when defeated.

Learning from the World Cup, PSSI chairman Agum Gumelar used one incident that occurred after the World Cup as a bad example for the four teams.

"On an international level, it seemed they were not prepared to lose," Agum said, referring to Italy, who suffered an upset loss to South Korea in the second round last week.

Many feel that the Italians reacted excessively to the defeat, which was marked by Serie A club Perugia's prompt move to fire its South Korean player Ahn Jung-hwan, who sealed Italian's ill- fated World Cup run in the extra time of the match.

"We are not as big as the World Cup, but let's show that we can be bigger by accepting a loss graciously," he told the four teams' representatives at a news conference at PSSI headquarters.

"From the current four, two will inevitable lose. Likewise in the final, one will lose. Everyone wants to be a champion, but we must be aware that the result may be against all expectations.

"This is a good momentum for us to show to the public that we have a moral responsibility toward the development of soccer (here). So, get prepared, with our skills, physical shape as well as mental attitude, especially when we end up losing," he said.

The league semifinals will be staged at the Bung Karno Stadium, with last year's losing finalist PSM Ujungpandang taking on Persita Tangerang on July 3 and Petrokimia Gresik facing Semen Padang on July 4.

The final will be played on July 7 before President Megawati Soekarnoputri, who is expected to present the championship trophy.

Agum's words can be regarded as a reminder about how a group of supporters can become unruly when their favorite team loses.

"Therefore, the teams are advised to pass the message to their respective supporters. This will help avoid any disturbances during the matches," said Agum, who is also minister of transportation.

State TVRI and private ANteve will broadcast the matches live. The matches are scheduled to kick off at 4:55 p.m. western Indonesian time.