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Persija Jakarta faces more than just a possible 3-0 loss after it forfeited its Indonesian Super League match against Persiwa Wamena, which had been scheduled for Saturday.

According to ISL regulations, Persija could also face a points deduction on top of the loss, which would all but extinguish the Kemayoran Tigers’ hopes of a league championship.

Jakarta Police did not issue a permit for the weekend match, even after Persija offered to move the game to Lebak Bulus Stadium and play without any spectators, as it was carrying out an anti-terror exercise with the Army Special Forces (Kopassus) from Thursday through Saturday.

League administrator PTLI refused to reschedule the match because Persiwa is on a tight schedule with its commitments in the second-tier AFC Cup.

The PTLI confirmed on Sunday the matter would be taken before the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) disciplinary committee, but it declined to comment on possible punishment.

“We’re still waiting for the match inspector’s report on the case. After that, we’ll send it to the disciplinary committee,” PTLI secretary Tigorshalom Boboy said. “ It is still too early to speculate on what kind of punishment will likely be given to Persija.”

Persiwa assistant manager Agus Santoso did not hide his anger over the incident.

“PTLI has to take strict action against Persija because it failed to hold a match. We all know the rules,” he said.

However, Persija club chairman Tony Tobias said he tried hard to get the permit but ran out of options.

“That was because of force majeure, and we hope PTLI understands that. It’s not us who didn’t want to stage the match. It’s because of other circumstances,” he said.

On the field, Persiba Balikpapan, Persipura Jayapura and Sriwijaya FC kept up the pressure on league leader Arema Malang as they all won on Saturday.

Persiba routed relegation-threatened Persik Kediri 5-0 at Persiba Stadium to move within five points from Arema, though the East Kalimantan club has played two more games.

Muhammad Albicho opened the scoring in the first minute. Julio Lopez scored twice, while Fery Ariawan and Sultan Samma each had one goal.

Defending champion Persipura bounced back from a 9-0 defeat at Changchun Yatai in the AFC Champions League to edge host PSPS Pekanbaru 1-0 at Rumbai Stadium, Riau. Striker Boaz Solossa scored his 10th goal of the season just three minutes before time to secure the victory.

Sriwijaya FC stayed in fourth with a 3-0 defeat of Persema Malang at Gelora Sriwijaya Stadium. Keith Kayamba, Richard Anoure Obiora and Arif Suyono scored in the first half.

“I think that was one of the team’s best performances this season. Everything worked well for us in the first half,” Sriwijaya coach Rahmad Darmawan said. “I hope we could continue to play as good as this so we can stay at the top half of the standings.”




JG, Antara