Saturday 4 February 2012

Safee Sali facing ban as Indonesian FA warned about league dispute

Striker Mohd Safee Sali could be banned from representing the national team in the future, if he continues to play for Indonesian club Pelita Jaya FC, which is under the Indonesia Super League (ISL).

ISL, comprising 18 football clubs, were banned by the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) as it only recognised the Indonesian Premier League (IPL) as the legal league in the country.

Asian Football Confederation (AFC) secretary-general Datuk Alex Soosay said AFC, prior to this, had given several reminders and warning letter to the PSSI, Indonesia's football governing body, to put their league under one roof.

"There is a high risk that footballers playing in the ISL will be affected (prevented from representing their countries).

"That's why, the PSSI have to ensure that they followed the guidelines stipulated by AFC and the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA)," he told a press conference here.

Safee, on Wednesday had signed a two-year contract extension worth RM2 million with the East Java-based club.

The two-year contract package for Safee, who was also installed team captain, included numerous benefits such as fixed match bonus, house, car, personal driver, taxes paid by the club, return tickets to Kuala Lumpur.

Soosay said AFC did not recognise the ISL league as it did not fall under the PSSI governance.

He said the AFC and FIFA had given a March 22 deadline to PSSI to bring an end to their football league crisis, adding the PSSI had agreed to have their congress on March 18.

He said PSSI could be sanctioned by FIFA in the future if they agreed to organise a single league in Indonesia.

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