•    HOME   
•    NEWS   
•    BUSINESS   
•    INTERNATIONAL   
•    TECH   
•    SPORTS   
•    LIFE & TIMES   
•    OPINION   
•    MY JAKARTA   
•    BLOGS   
•    EYEWITNESS   

After a brief honeymoon, the new leadership of the Indonesian Football Association is starting to mimic the old regime’s bad habits.

Hopes of greater consistency and clarity all but evaporated on Thursday when the association, also known as the PSSI, backtracked on its decision from two days ago and announced this year’s Indonesian Super League would include 24 clubs.

The PSSI announced in August that it wanted a revamped, 32-team ISL with eastern and western conferences. It backed off that plan on Sept. 16, though, saying that changing the league format would violate PSSI statutes.

“We can’t contradict the statutes and the result of the PSSI congress. We don’t want to violate our own regulations,” chairman Djohar Arifin Husin said at the time.

PSSI executive committee member La Nyalla Mattalitti said earlier this week that this year’s ISL would have 18 teams.

Showing a gift for semantics, though, the association found an apparent loophole.

“Article 23 of the PSSI statutes says all 18 clubs in the top league have the right to vote in the annual congress. It doesn’t say there has to be only 18 clubs in the top tier,” said Sihar Sitorus, head of the PSSI’s competition committee. “Article 37 says the executive committee has the right to decide the place, date and number of clubs in all competitions, so we didn’t break any law by adding to the number in the ISL.”

Bowing to outside interests, the executive committee invited Bontang FC, Persibo Bojonegoro, Persema Malang, PSM Makassar, PSMS Medan and Persebaya Surabaya to join the 14 ISL clubs and four sides promoted from the Premier Division in the top flight.

Bontang lost a relegation playoff to Persidafon Dafonsoro and was originally left out of the 18-team plan. Persibo, PSM and Persema were ineligible for the ISL, PSSI secretary general Tri Goestoro said on Tuesday, after defecting to the rebel Indonesian Premier League last season.

PSMS lost in the promotion playoff, while Persebaya finished well off the pace and didn’t even make the playoffs last season.

Sihar said on-field results were not a deciding factor, though.

“We feel sympathy for PSM, Persibo and Persema. The April 14 [normalization committee] meeting annulled their sanctions, so we decided to put them back in the top league,” he said.

“We also have same feeling for Bontang. It’s not fair for them as they’re the best team in the Premier Division now.”

He also said PSMS and Persebaya’s history, as well as requests from sponsors, earned them a place in the ISL.

“Both of them are considered big clubs and sponsors want them in the top league. They were verified and had good scores. They proved they had the capability to play in the top league,” Sihar said, refusing to name the sponsors.

PSSI rules require clubs that withdraw from a competition be banned for one year and relegated to a lower division. That would force PSM, Persibo and Persema to play in the second tier even if their membership was reinstated.

La Nyalla was a dissenting voice among the PSSI leadership. He said the normalization committee — which was formed by FIFA after world football’s governing body said former chairman Nurdin Halid’s regime had lost its legitimacy — had not reinstated the membership of the three defecting clubs.

“There was a recommendation, but the chairman of the normalization committee [Agum Gumelar] refused to sign it. I know that because I asked them,” he said.

Persidafon club manager Iwan Nazarudin was not pleased by the sudden change.

“The PSSI is showing its inconsistency again. I’m confused. Yesterday, there were 18 clubs being verified, so why did it decide to have 24 clubs in the top league? Why did they earn their place in the top league?” Iwan said.

“Please be consistent. If things keep changing, it could hurt the teams, psychologically and financially.”