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

With the Southeast Asian Games over, football in Indonesia looks set to return to its old routine.

While the officially sanctioned Indonesian Premier League is scheduled to resume today, the competition looks unlikely to go forward as clubs refuse to play or even confirm they will take part in the league.

Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) deputy secretary general Saleh Mukadar said today’s matches featuring Persipura Jayapura and Persib Bandung likely would not take place.

“There’s possibility that Persipura will not play, although Arema [Indonesia] has been there since Thursday. If Persipura refuses to play, it will lose its place in the AFC Champions League playoff. We’re very concerned about it,” he said on Friday.

“We’ve also got reports that Mitra Kukar has yet to show up in Bandung to play Persib. In our recent communication with the Bandung club, it still confirmed it would play in the IPL.”

He added that the PSSI had already sent match officials to Bandung and Jayapura.

Persib indicated late last month that it had not decided whether to stay with the IPL or join the reconstituted Indonesian Super League.

Persipura is scheduled to host Arema today at Mandala Stadium in Jayapura, while Persib is supposed to host Mitra Kukar and Persiba Bantul is set to play Bontang FC. At the same time, though, Persipura is also scheduled to play Persisam Samarinda in the final match of the 2011 Inter-Island Cup.

Asked about the sanctions the PSSI would give to clubs that refuse to play in the IPL, Saleh refused to give a clear answer.

“It’s not my authority to answer such question. You should ask the disciplinary committee,” he said.

Persipura, which won the most recent ISL title in June, confirmed it would play in the ISL rather than the IPL, club secretary Thamrin Sagala said.

“We asked for the PSSI’s explanation why the league included 24 clubs as the Bali congress required it to hold the top league with 18 clubs. The PSSI answered that now the league only included 18 clubs, but we demanded more explanation as it dropped six ISL clubs,” Thamrin said.

“The PSSI has yet to respond to our letter. Finally, we made our stand that we couldn’t play in the IPL and we opted to play in the ISL. We have already sent official notification to the PSSI and [league administrator] Liga Prima.”

The club also brushed aside threats that it would lose its place in the Champions League. Black Pearls coach Jacksen Tiago said he had received a text message from a PSSI official making such a threat.

“We’re not worried about it. The [Asian Football Confederation] will not take such a decision. I know the PSSI could make a suggestion, but the AFC will take time to assess the case and ask us. We have yet to receive any notification from the AFC and we’ll only take the AFC’s word, not the PSSI’s,” Tiago said.

The AFC announced late on Thursday that Indonesia had lost its direct place in the ACL group stage to Thailand. Persipura will go into the playoffs, while ISL runner-up Arema will enter the second-tier AFC Cup.