Indonesia’s Jokowi ‘sad’, football fans angry as Fifa pulls U20 World Cup over Israel’s participation

Fifa world football’s governing body removed Indonesia as host of this year’s Under-20 World Cup following vocal opposition of Israel’s participation
Losing the hosting rights triggered online criticism from football fans, with most of the condemnation pointed towards officials for mixing politics with sports

Indonesia

Resty Woro Yuniar

Published: 8:07pm, 30 Mar 2023

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Football-crazy Indonesia was awash with sadness and anger on Wednesday, following Fifa’s decision to strip the nation of hosting rights for the Under-20 World Cup for opposing Israel’s participation in the tournament.

President Joko Widodo on Thursday said he was “disappointed and sad”, but the decision by world football’s governing body had to be respected.

“Don’t waste your energy blaming one another. As a big nation we have to look towards what’s in front, not behind,” he said.

Earlier in the week, Widodo had reaffirmed his country’s political stance with Palestine.

Indonesia stripped of U20 World Cup hosting rights by Fifa

Indonesia had been hoping to use its host status to restore its image among the global sports community following last year’s stadium crush disaster, but its stance on Israel has shown how difficult it is for the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation to separate sports from politics.

Fifa said in a statement on Wednesday that Indonesia would no longer be the U20 World Cup host “due to the current circumstances”.

“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,” it said.

“Fifa would like to underline that despite this decision, it remains committed to actively assisting the [Indonesian football association] PSSI … in the transformation process of Indonesian football following the tragedy that occurred in October 2022.”

PSSI chairman Erick Thohir said he “tried his best” to reverse Fifa’s decision during a meeting in Doha.

“After delivering a letter from President Jokowi [nickname of Indonesia’s president], and talking at length with Fifa President Gianni Infantino, we must accept Fifa’s decision to cancel the holding of the event that we were both looking forward to,” Thohir, the former president of Italian club Inter Milan, said on Wednesday.

Widodo said he had instructed Thohir to work on avoiding Fifa sanctions “including the chance to host other international events”.

Fifa cancelled the draw for the tournament in Bali, scheduled for Friday, following vocal opposition to Israel’s participation by the island’s governor Wayan Koster.

Muslims participate in a protest to reject the football national team of Israel for the U20 World Cup. Photo: AFP

Another politician who objected to Israel’s participation was Ganjar Pranowo, the Central Java governor whom polls indicate is a front runner in the 2024 presidential election, and who is believed to be backed by Widodo.

Ganjar faced a barrage of online criticism, as his Instagram page was flooded with angry posts from football fans, and those most affected by Fifa’s decision.

Arkhan Fikri, a midfielder on the U20 team, posted this comment: “Thank you, sir, my parents can’t tell their friends that they have a son that they’re proud of for playing in the World Cup.”

They [politicians] must apologise for ending the dream of Indonesians to witness Indonesia hosting the World Cup

Akmal Marhali, Save Our Soccer

Another user, teman_supporter, urged fellow football fans “not to vote for this man because he has destroyed [Indonesian] football”.

Akmal Marhali, coordinator at football watchdog Save Our Soccer, demanded that officials apologise.

“We failed [to play in the World Cup] because of their egocentrism, because of their political interests. They need to take the moral responsibility,” he said in an Instagram video. “They must apologise to all for ending the dream of Indonesians to witness history of Indonesia hosting the World Cup.”

Indonesian stadium stampede ‘dark day for all of football’ says Fifa president

Indonesia had allocated 500 billion rupiah (US$31 million) to host the tournament, which was supposed to take place in six cities across the country.

Meanwhile, a replay of this sports controversy could be on the horizon.

Israel is also taking part in World Beach Games in Bali, which begin August 5 and the Indonesian Olympic Committee says it’s trying to persuade its governor – who strongly opposed Israel’s presence at the U20 World Cup – let the event go ahead as planned.

Additional reporting by Reuters