Soccer security tightened

Soccer security tightened

SURABAYA, East Java (JP): Security will be tightened in places
along the way to Indonesian soccer league venues in Jakarta to
prevent vandalism by hooligan supporters.

East Java's military commander, Maj. Gen. Iman Utomo, said
security personnel would be deployed to keep an eye on supporters
going to watch their teams play.

The semifinals and final will be July 25 and July 27 at the
Senayan stadium.

East Java soccer teams Persebaya and Mitra Surabaya will take
on PSM Ujung Pandang and Bandung Raya in the 3rd Liga Kansas
championship.

As in other years, there are fears hooligans will disrupt
railway stations on the way to the Senayan stadium. Last year
some of them looted shops.

"Identified hooligans will probably be accompanied by security
officials or barred from leaving their home town if necessary,"
he said.

The semifinal and final will involve a South Korean referee
and seven local referees.

An All Indonesia Football Federation official defended the use
of the South Korean referee, saying the decision was made to make
the competition credible.

"Local spectators prefer a soccer competition to be
adjudicated by a foreign referee to make the game fair," said
Djafar Umar, who chairs the federation's referee commission.

The commission had decided to use a foreign referee for the
competition without underestimating the local referees' ability,
he said.

He said local supporters seemed more accepting of foreign
referees' decisions even though they made mistakes too. (nur/03)