Steven Danis
Football Tribe Indonesia
According to this statement by the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) released on Saturday, second-tier club PS Mojokerto Putra have been banned from the nation’s domestic football league ahead of the 2019. As such, they will not participate in the 2019 Liga 2 and 2019-2020 Piala Indonesia. Their striker, Krisna Adi Darma, has also received a lifetime ban for all football’s activities (playing, coaching, and so on) after being indicted for his involvement in match fixing case, where he intentionally missed a spot kick in match against Aceh United on the 19th of November.
However, Mojokerto Putra’s match fixing extends beyond that encounter, as the PSSI have indicated their games against Kalteng Putra (newly promoted to Liga 1 next season) on 3rd and 9th of November, as well as their encounter with Gresik United on the 29th of November were fixed. The Laskar Majapahit have become the most controversial team in Indonesia this year, and have even been given the nickname ‘The King of Penalties,’ after scoring 14 goals from the spot in just 10 matches last season.
Despite this strong and decisive response, many people remain concerned that the PSSI have not made a clear statement of intent to eradicate match fixing from the domestic game. While the club and Krisna Adi were banned, the root of the problem is yet to be addressed.