The long way to fight bribery

KOMPAS/ADRIAN FAJRIANSYAH

Indonesian Soccer Community coordinator Emerson Yuntho (white) and members, including Ignatius Indro (left), display banners against a soccer match-fixing syndicate after being received by representatives of the Soccer Antimafia Task Force at the General Criminal Directorate of the Jakarta Police on Friday (28/12/2018). During the meeting, the Indonesia Soccer Community supported the task force\'s efforts to eradicate the organized crime group.

The naming of four suspects in a match-fixing case in the country’s League 2 and League 3 soccer competitions is expected to be an opportunity to clean up national soccer. However, the road is still long.

The seriousness of the National Police in eradicating match-fixing in the national soccer league was tinged with doubt. However, the doubt was gone after the National Police’s Antimafia Task Force arrested Johar Lin Eng on Thursday (12/27/2018). Johar, who is also a member of the Soccer Association of Indonesia (PSSI) executive committee, was then named a suspect.

The police also declared three other suspects, namely former members of the Referee Committee, Priyanto, referee Anik Yuni and a member of the PSSI Discipline Commission, Dwi Irianto. The four are suspected of manipulating the results of League 2 and League 3 matches, starting from deciding the qualifying group so that the competition is easy for clubs that have handed over “money” and also appointing referees who can “compromise”.

Various parties, including Youth and Sports Ministry secretary Gatot S Dewa Broto, a number of activists who care about sports organizations as well as former national soccer players, praised the seriousness of the police. Positive responses followed the arrest, including a statement of support to the National Police.

Naturally, the police need to be encouraged because efforts to eradicate match-fixing are not an easy matter. At least, if you look at Kompas news reports since the 1970s, such scandals often occur and continues to. Not only in national league matches, the practice of bribery leading to scoring also involves national team players, especially when they play in international matches.

As an example, in an article on the front page of Kompas on Oct. 5, 1978, the investigative team found that gamblers had been bribing soccer players for a long time. In the news two days earlier, Oct. 3, 1978, it was also written that a national player claimed to receive money from a gambling kingpin. The player was reported and apologized to then PSSI chairman, Ali Sadikin.

Another case that tarnished national soccer was a fixed match between Indonesia and Thailand in the 1998 Tiger Cup. In their attempt to avoid a strong opponent in the next round, both teams decided to lose in the match. Indonesian player Mursyid Effendi, who at that time was seen intentionally scoring an own goal, was banned for life from playing in the international stage. The Indonesian and Thai teams were also subject to fines.

If decades of Indonesian soccer have allowed match-fixing practices, now the awareness of all parties is required to jointly put an end to them. PSSI as a federation must be ready to work with the police to eradicate match fixing.

Soccer and sports in general should work within the spirit of honesty and sportsmanship. The determinant is the real winner in the field and not factors outside the field, such as the money from gambling kingpins to change the stakes, or an element of personal interest that contaminates the purity of the sport.