Remembering PSSI’s Promise After League 1 Referee Controversy Continues to Grow All

KOMPAS.com – PSSI’s commitment and promise to improve the quality of Indonesian football referees is again being questioned.

Because, there are still many controversial decisions of League 1 referees until the 27th week of this season’s competition.

Week 27 of Liga 1 opened with the match Persiraja Banda Aceh vs Barito Putera, Sunday (27/2/2022).

The match which brought together two teams at the bottom of the League 1 standings was colored by a controversial decision by the referee in the 59th minute.

Read also: Persebaya hopes that the fight for the champion of League 1 will not be disturbed by the controversy of the referee

The linesman unexpectedly considered Persiraja striker, Jabar Sharza, offside in the penalty box when Barito Putera received a cross from Arya Putra Gerryan.

After watching the replay, Kompas.com assessed the position of Jabar Sharza when Arya Putra released an onside cross.

Because, Jabar Sharza is still standing in front of the last defensive player Barito Putera.

A few minutes after that moment, the coaches of the two teams, Sergio Alexandre (Persiraja) and Rahmad Darmawan (Barito Putera), had an argument on the sidelines.

The dispute between the two began with Sergio Alexandre’s provocation, which looked like accusing Barito Putera of paying or bribing the referee.

Sergio Alexandre’s accusations were shown through gestures moving his thumb and forefinger like he was counting money.

Also read: PSSI Secretary General: How does the referee want to go up in class if he leads League 3 makes a lot of mistakes?

Regarding the incident, Rahmad Darmawan said that Sergio Alexandre not only accused Barito Putera of paying the referee through gestures but also with words.

Rahmad Darmawan is very disappointed because he thinks foreign coaches like Sergio Alexandre should be wiser in their attitude.

“This needs to be straightened out. He (Sergio Alexandre) said how much Barito Putera paid the referee. His face when he said that was 100 percent towards me,” said Rahmad Darmawan.

“As a result, I immediately responded. I told him that professional coaches should not talk like that,” said Rahmad Darmawan.

“We have also been disadvantaged. However, I protest not excessively,” added the former Madura United coach.

Recently, the Madura United vs Persebaya Surabaya match, Monday (28/2/2022) night WIB, was also colored by controversy.

Also read: Referees harmed in League 3, Bandung United sends a loud protest to PSSI

The referee who led the match was Agus Fauzan from Yogyakarta.

One of Agus Fauzan’s decisions that raised questions occurred in the 71st minute.

At that time, Persebaya striker, Samsul Arif, was accelerating on the right side of the Madura United penalty box.

Samsul Arif then immediately fell while trying to get past the Madura United captain, Fachrudin.

In the replay, Samsul Arif lost his balance and immediately fell after Fachrudin slashed his left leg.

Kompas.com believes that Agus Fauzan should have given Persebaya a penalty because Fachrudin very clearly violated Samsul Arif.

However, Agus Fauzan considers Fachrudin not to have committed a violation.

Also read: PSSI Prepares Heavy Sanctions for Problematic League 3 Referees

The decision became controversial because Agus Fauzan was only about two meters away from the duel for the ball between Samsul Arif and Fachrudin.

After the match, Persebaya coach, Aji Santoso, immediately criticized the referee’s performance.

Aji Santoso assesses PSSI and PT Liga Indonesia Baru (LIB) must immediately act to improve the quality of League 1 referees who still often make mistakes.

“I’ve seen the replay. Samsul Arif was violated. It’s not a 100 percent penalty, but already 1,000 percent,” said Aji Santoso, quoted from the Antara website.

“We and several foreign coaches have often complained about the quality of the referee. If the referee is fair and doesn’t make many mistakes, we will accept whatever the result of the match is,” added Aji Santoso.

Although it has been widely criticized, the performance of the League 1 referees still continues to cause controversy until the 28th week of the competition.

This is certainly worrying, especially since Liga 1 will enter the competition weeks that will determine the competition in the relegation zone and the championship path.

Also read: How much is the salary of the 2021-2022 League 1 Referee?

PSSI Hasn’t Fulfilled Promise?

PSSI officials actually held a meeting to discuss the performance of the League 1 referees in November last year.

The meeting was chaired directly by the General Chairperson of PSSI, Mochamad Iriawan. Two important decisions were made at the meeting.

First, PSSI plans to assign two additional assistant referees who will be placed on each goal line in every Liga 1 match.

Second, PSSI will bring in the technical director of referees from abroad who are recommended by the AFC.

The job of the Technical Referee Director is to evaluate and recommend referees in League 1 matches.

Before implementing the above two decisions, PSSI will first write and wait for the approval of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

Also read: Bhayangkara Vs Bali United, Tired of Controversy, Teco Wants a Fair Referee

PSSI at that time also planned to hold quick training for additional assistant referees.

Because, the plan to add two assistant referees will be implemented by PSSI since early January 2022 or when the fourth series of Liga 1 2021-2022 begins.

“So with this additional assistant referee and contracting the technical director of the referee, the refereeing mistakes that we have seen so far can be minimized and evaluated,” said Mochamad Iriawan in November 2021.

“PSSI wants in the future there will be significant changes to Indonesian football,” said Mochamad Iriawan.

In KOMPAS.com monitoring, PSSI’s plan regarding the addition of two assistant referees has not been realized until the 28th week of League 1.

This can be reflected in the match equipment for the 28th week of Liga 1.

The total number of referees on duty in the 28th week of Liga 1 matches is still three, namely the main referee and two assistant referees.

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