Indonesia FA threatens legal action against govt

JAKARTA, Indonesia — The Indonesian Football Association Monday threatened legal action against the government over its attempt to suspend the association, in a row that has provoked anger from FIFA.

The sports ministry last week said it was freezing all the activities of the association known as the PSSI and would replace it, following a dispute over club ownership that has led to the country’s top-flight league being halted.

However, the PSSI’s newly-elected chief insisted at the weekend that the body remained in charge of football in Indonesia because it came under the authority of FIFA and not the government. The association has vowed to restart the league this coming weekend.

The world governing body, which generally opposes government interference in football associations, has previously sided with the PSSI and threatened sanctions against Jakarta if it continues meddling.

(READ: Indonesian football standoff as row escalates)

On Monday PSSI chief La Nyalla Mattalitti called on the government to backtrack on the suspension or risk legal action.

“We will hold talks with the sports and youth ministry. If they refuse to revoke the suspension, we will bring the case to the state administrative court,” he told AFP.

He earlier told reporters the PSSI had acted “democratically, transparently and fairly” in a congress at the weekend in the city of Surabaya, where he was elected chief.

Announcing the suspension of the PSSI in an official decree Friday, the sports minister said a transitional team would be set up to prepare for the installation of a new PSSI board. 

(READ: Indonesia accuses FIFA of violating country’s sovereignty)

However Mattalitti said such a move would be “an illegal act”.

A spokesman for FIFA, which wrote to the government earlier this month urging them to stop meddling, said Monday the body was “currently monitoring the situation”.

The mounting crisis is a huge setback for Indonesian football, which is only just recovering from a long-running feud between the PSSI and a breakaway association which led to the creation of two rival leagues. The two sides have now merged. 

The latest row erupted this month when a government agency said that two teams could not participate in the Indonesian Super League due to ownership issues. But the PSSI disagreed, and then decided to halt the league entirely. —Rappler.com