Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesia will ask world soccer organization FIFA not to impose a sanction on the Indonesian Soccer Association (PSSI) for its failure to hold a congress that resulted in the election of new leadership, the congress`s chief organizer said.

"Mr Joko (Driyono), I and possibly representatives from the ministry of youth and sports affairs and the Indonesian National Sports Committee (KONI) will leave for Zurich, Switzerland on Friday ask FIFA not to pass a sanction on PSSI," Agum Gumelar, chairman of the Normalization Committee, said in the PSSI website here on Tuesday.

Agum and Joko Driyono will present a complete report to FIFA on the holding of the PSSI congress and lobby the world soccer organization so that it would not impose a sanction on Indonesia over the failure of the Normalization Committee to organize the congress.

"In the report, we will also include the hope of the Indonesian people. We hope FIFA would not issue a sanction against us, though the possibility of our request to be granted is small," Agum said.

He said that if the PSSI was punished it would a heavy blow to Indonesian soccer players who had trained made preparations to face the SEA Games. "So was the case of Persipura and Sriwijaya FC which had been qualified for the round of big 16 of the AFC Cup," he said.(*)
(A014/HAJM/a014)

Editor: Ruslan Burhani
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