U20 World Cup: Indonesia stripped of hosting rights by Fifa after Bali refused to host Israel team
- World governing body says decision was ‘due to current circumstances’, adds new venue to be announced
- Indonesian officials say they are hoping to avoid further sanctions as a result of losing tournament
Fifa has stripped Indonesia of the right to stage this year’s Under-20 World Cup, over what an Indonesian official said was a failure to honour its commitments to the tournament.
The decision to stop Indonesia holding the event, which was scheduled to being on May 20, was taken after the country’s football federation (PSSI) said it had cancelled the draw because the governor of the largely Hindu island of Bali refused to host Israel’s team.
“Fifa has decided, due to the current circumstances, to remove Indonesia as the host of the FIFA U-20 World Cup 2023,” the world governing body said in a statement.
“A new host will be announced as soon as possible, with the dates of the tournament currently remaining unchanged. Potential sanctions against the PSSI may also be decided at a later stage.”
The decision was taken after a meeting between Fifa president Gianni Infantino and Erick Thohir, the PSSI chairman.
“Indonesia is a Fifa member, so for any international football matters, we have to abide by the rules,” Thohir said.