FIFA Slam Indonesia Lies as Disgraced Leader Stands on the Brink..

An Indonesian fan protests against the PSI leadership in Jakarta last month (Getty)

March 28, 2011 

(WFI) FIFA have castigated the discredited leadership of Indonesia’s FA (PSSI) after it prevented a FIFA observer from attending a special congress it had ordered, and for falsely claiming that football’s world governing body ordered the cancellation of the meeting.

This extraordinary turn of events may prove the death knell for the career of disgraced PSSI president, Nurdin Halid.

Earlier this month the FIFA Exco ordered the convention of a special PSSI congress to agree on voting procedures for the federation’s presidential election amidst fears that Halid, a convicted fraudster, was attempting to manipulate the electoral process.


The meeting, held on Saturday in Pekanbaru, descended into farce when PSSI general secretary Nugraha Besoes claimed that FIFA had ordered its cancellation for security reasons.

78 of the 100 registered delegates carried on proceedings without Besoes, Halid and their allies.

Today a FIFA spokesman told INSIDER today that claims made by Besoes that FIFA had ordered the cancellation of the PSSI Congress were “completely false” and that New Zealand federation chairman, Frank Van Hattum, whom FIFA had sent as an observer, was “prevented” from attending the congress by the PSSI leadership.

"FIFA's observer was prevented in being able to observe the PSSI General Assembly in Pekanbaru on 26 March by the PSSI leadership,” a FIFA spokesman told INSIDER.

"The claim from the PSSI Secretary General that it was FIFA who decided to cancel the PSSI Congress for alleged security reasons is completely false. On the contrary, the FIFA observer repeatedly requested to go to the Congress venue and was prevented in doing so by the PSSI leadership.

"Once FIFA receives the official report from its observer, FIFA will submit the situation to the relevant body for a decision."

Claim and counterclaim
On Saturday Besoes told local media that violence around the convention centre had caused Van Hattum to call off proceedings. There were uncorroborated reports of around twenty people forcing entry into the convention centre.

These claims were denied by delegates, several of whom kept INSIDER updated throughout the weekend, telling us that the convention centre was the scene of a small peaceful protest of around 100 fans, while being heavily guarded by police and the army.

“While being at the Congress hall, the Delegates were informed by the Police – and not by the PSSI General Secretary - that the PSSI President and General Secretary without coming to the hotel where the Congress was supposed to take place, had announced from another hotel that the Congress had been cancelled,” said Usman Fakaubun, chairman of the Congress, in a letter to FIFA.

“The argument used by them was that security conditions were not met while no incident had been registered and the presence of the Army and various police departments guaranteed a total security.”

“The delegates entered the Congress hall without any incident and no incident occurred until the completion of the Congress.”

Fakaubun said that the only reason the PSSI leadership had called off the congress was because they had no way of securing its agenda, which included a distorted version of the FIFA electoral statutes that would have allowed Halid to stand for a third term.

“The general feeling is that this decision of cancellation was motivated by the perception by the PSSI leadership after the registration of the delegates, that they had no majority in this Congress,” he added.

Ironically – given the subsequent claims of Besoes - delegates opposed to the leadership of Nurdin Halid had switched hotels the previous evening amidst fears that there would be attempts to intimidate them by allies of the PSSI leadership.

The congress backed a new version of the PSSI electoral code – following the FIFA Standard Electoral Code – for next month’s election.

Given that its observer was prevented from attending, it remains to be seen whether FIFA will accept the evnts put forward to it by the remaining delegates.

But given the extraordinary attempts to prevent FIFA from overseeing justice it seems highly unlikely that the PSSI’s current leadership will be looked upon favourably again.

From INSIDER’s James Corbett
original from: www.worldfootballinsider.com