We Are Not Responsible for Supporters Riot: Football Association
Jakarta. Just days after a violent football riot broke out during a Torabika Soccer Championship match, leaving police officers seriously injured and property damaged, game leaders sat down on Wednesday night (29/06) to debate the headlines.
Metro TV's Mata Najwa pitted the sports leaders against each other to debate the scandal.
Police public relations head Boy Rafli Amar, Sport and Youth Ministry spokesman Gatot Dewa Broto, Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) executive committee member Djamal Aziz, Save Our Soccer coordinator Akmal Marhali and Supporters Discussion Forum (FDSI) president Helmi Atmaja all took part.
Strong confrontation between the two sports body leaders, Gatot and Djamal, reflected the rocky relation between their respective parties — the sports ministry and PSSI — in recent years. Most prominently, the ministry suspended PSSI in April last year. The suspension was repealed last month after more than a year of negotiation.
Djamal's comments about the responsibility PSSI has for recent rioting at Jakarta football matches dropped jaws in the audience.
"Football supporters shouldn't be reconciled, they should be in intense clashes in order to make football more attractive," Djamal said.
"Supporters should be peaceful off the pitch, but should they act so on the pitch?
"Shouldn't you watch football with spirited tension? You can't watch football like watching movies," he argued.
The audience largely disagreed with his statements. Previously, fans have shown support for European standards where players and fan groups respect each other on and off the pitch.
Djamal insisted PSSI is not responsible for supporter riots in Indonesia. Football rioting in Indonesia has become increasingly violent, with Save Our Soccer data showing 33 people have been killed in Indonesian football events in the past four years.
"The Federation doesn't manage supporters who riot, we just handle football governance. If we regulate riots, what kind of federation are we?" Djamal said.
"Supporters are not our responsibility. We just oversee football clubs which then clubs manage their supporters through education or sanctions we impose," Djamal said.
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