Scandal Plagued FIFA Bans Indonesia From International Football

Indonesia was formally notified over the weekend that it had been suspended by football’s world governing authority FIFA from all levels of international football but the Indonesian U-23 team has been granted permission to participate in the ongoing SEA Games.

The ban was a result of FIFA having a no-nonsense stance towards government interference in football affairs. The nation’s Sports and Youth Ministry had called off the Indonesian Super League (ISL) due to a row over the eligibility of two clubs to compete in the tournament.

The Indonesian Professional Sports Agency (BOPI), sanctioned by the ministry, had barred popular clubs, Persebaya Surabaya and Arema Indonesia from playing in the ISL due to financial irregularities but the Indonesian FA (PSSI) had resisted those attempts.

The sanctions will also affect Indonesian club teams from participating in FIFA and AFC tournaments. In addition to playing sanctions, Indonesian football officials will not be able to participate in any FIFA and AFC training courses, seminars or workshops.

Indonesia had been drawn in Group F for the next round of matches, which doubles as qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup and 2019 Asian Cup, and was scheduled to play Taiwan on June 11.

The Indonesian government has accepted responsibility for the ban but said it will continue to reform and clean up the national football scene, which has been strewn with a slew of scandals such as feuds between PSSI and KPSI, administrative mismanagement, financial issues, poor match security measures and even tragic deaths of foreign players who have been unpaid and denied quality medical care.

The league’s title sponsor Qatar National Bank, which had struck a three-year deal with PSSI, has yet to comment on the status of its sponsorship…But a withdrawal seems on the cards.