On 2 November 2015, the joint FIFA and AFC delegation led by Mr. Kohzo Tashima (FIFA Executive Committee member) and including HRH Prince Abdullah (FIFA Executive Committee member) and Mr. Mariano Araneta (AFC Executive Committee member) held a meeting with President of the Republic of Indonesia HE Joko Widodo in order to find a solution for Indonesian football following the suspension of PSSI by the FIFA Executive Committee on May 30, 2015 and the decision of the FIFA Executive Committee on September 25, 2015 to set up a high level delegation to go to Indonesia. Prior to this meeting, the delegation met with the PSSI President and other PSSI officials.
It was apparent that FIFA, AFC, PSSI and the Government are of the common view that Indonesia is a high potential football country and that reforms are needed to maximize their potential. The President of the Republic of Indonesia understood that any reform must occur under the auspices of the FIFA Statutes, but the Government is welcomed as a stakeholder in the reform. The President of the Republic of Indonesia expressed his sincere concern about the affairs of Indonesian football and reiterated his commitment to the development of the game. The delegation would like to express their sincere gratitude to all parties, including the President of the Republic for the productive meeting.
Indonesia will not compete in the joint 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia and AFC Asian Cup 2019 qualifiers following a decision taken at the extraordinary meeting of the FIFA Executive Committee on 30 May 2015.
The Executive decided to suspend the Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI) until the PSSI would be able to comply with its obligations under arts. 13 and 17 of the FIFA Statutes. This decision resulted from the effective “take over” of the activities of PSSI by the Indonesian authorities.
13 Members’ obligations
1. Members have the following obligations:
a) to comply fully with the Statutes, regulations, directives and decisions of FIFA bodies at any time as well as the decisions of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) passed on appeal on the basis of art. 66 par. 1 of the FIFA Statutes;
b) to take part in competitions organised by FIFA;
c) to pay their membership subscriptions;
d) to ensure that their own members comply with the Statutes, regulations, directives and decisions of FIFA bodies;
e) to convene its supreme and legislative body at regular intervals, at least every two years;
f) to ratify statutes that are in accordance with the requirements of the FIFA Standard Statutes;
g) to create a referees committee that is directly subordinate to the Member;
h) to respect the Laws of the Game;
i) to manage their affairs independently and ensure that their own affairs are not influenced by any third parties;
j) to comply fully with all other duties arising from these Statutes and other regulations.
2. Violation of the above-mentioned obligations by any Member may lead to sanctions provided for in these Statutes.
3. Violations of par. 1 (i) may also lead to sanctions even if the third-party influence was not the fault of the Member concerned.
Article 17 : Independence of Members and their bodies
1. Each Member shall manage its affairs independently and with no influence from third parties.
2. A Member’s bodies shall be either elected or appointed in that Association. A Member’s statutes shall provide for a procedure that guarantees the complete independence of the election or appointment.
3. Any Member’s bodies that have not been elected or appointed in compliance with the provisions of par. 2, even on an interim basis, shall not be recognised by FIFA.
4. Decisions passed by bodies that have not been elected or appointed in compliance with par. 2 shall not be recognised by FIFA.
In agreement with the Asian Football Confederation, the PSSI have been advised of the national team’s disqualification from the joint qualifiers as detailed above. All of Indonesia’s matches from Group F of the joint qualifying competition are thus deleted.
