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The capital city’s football fans have been denied a second chance to watch a derby clash between Persija Jakarta and Persitara North Jakarta after police decided that Sunday’s match would be played closed-door.

Match organizers on Friday said the Jakarta Police would issue a match permit on the condition that no supporters of either clubs would be allowed inside Gelora Bung Karno Stadium.

“We coordinated with [league administrator PT Liga Indonesia] to try and negotiate with the police so that fans can watch inside the stadium. But the police denied our appeal,” said Fachri, the head of Persitara’s match organizing committee.

Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Boy Rafli Amar said the history of violence between fans of the two teams was the reason behind the ban. The Jakarta clubs also played to an empty stadium for the same reason when they met for the first time on Jan. 20.

“We can see that there’re still some friction between [Persija fans club] Jakmania and [Persitara supporters] North Jak. “We fear that this could escalate to a riot and that’s something we want to avoid,” Boy said.

Persitara, which sits second from bottom with 19 points, is coming off a 5-2 rout of PSPS Pekanbaru on Wednesday. But the 17th-ranked club can’t rely merely on momentum when it takes on Persija. Besides improving on its defense, which has given up 33 goals this season, third most in the league, Persitara needs its 11 new players to start working as a team.

Persitara is only two points behind 16th-place PSM Makassar but needs to perform better if it hopes to avoid relegation.

Assistant coach Dody Sahetapy said his club would address its weaknesses.

“Persija is a much better team than PSPS. And we need to improve our defense in order to have a shot at Persija,” Dody said.

Manager Harry Ruswanto called his club’s victory over PSPS a good start.

“I hope the boys don’t get too excited [for the Persija match] as we’re still at the bottom. We must win as many as points as possible in order to survive,” he said.

Persija, which ranks seventh with 32 points, also made some changes in its roster. After acquiring Firman Utina from Pelita Jaya, the Kemayoran Tigers also picked up defender Papa Abdou Toure and forward Emalue Serge, who played for Arema Malang under Benny Dollo in 2005 and 2006.

“We know that Persitara has overhauled its roster,” Persija assistant coach Sudirman said. “I think [midfielder] Oktovianus Maniani is the most noteworthy player on their new roster.”

In its previous match, Persija crushed Persitara 3-0 courtesy of Talaohu Abdul Musyafri’s hat-trick.

PSPS Pekanbaru plays Pelita Jaya, and Persijap Jepara hosts PSM Makassar, today.

On Sunday, Sriwijaya FC hosts Bontang FC. ISL