Indonesian President Joko Widodo stated Tuesday he was sending the nation’s soccer affiliation chief for talks with FIFA about its internet hosting of the Under-20 World Cup after the draw was nixed following protests over Israel’s participation.
The two nations should not have formal diplomatic relations, and assist for the Palestinian trigger in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation runs excessive, fuelling native opposition to internet hosting the Israeli staff.
Widodo stated he had dispatched Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) head and minister for state-owned enterprises Erick Thohir as uncertainty swirled over the competitors’s location.
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“I’ve despatched PSSI chief Erick Thohir to meet with the FIFA staff to search for one of the best resolution,” Widodo said in a livestreamed speech.
He didn’t specify when Thohir — a former chairman of Inter Milan — would fly or which FIFA officers he would meet.
The meeting will take place in Qatari capital Doha, PSSI official Eko Rahmanto told AFP Wednesday. Indonesian officials initially said he would meet with FIFA in Zurich, Switzerland, where the world football governing body is headquartered.
Fixtures for the 24-nation tournament beginning in May were due to be chosen on Friday in Bali, but FIFA cancelled the event without offering a reason or setting a new date.
Indonesian officials said Bali’s governor calling for Israel to be thrown out of the cup because of its policies towards the Palestinians was likely behind the draw’s cancellation.
Around a hundred conservative Muslim demonstrators also marched in the capital Jakarta this month to protest Israel’s involvement.
FIFA is yet to comment on the tournament and where it will be held after the draw was nixed.
The Indonesian president said sport and politics should not clash after the calls for Israel to be removed from the tournament.
“I guarantee the participation of Israel has nothing to do with the consistency of our foreign policy to Palestine. Because our support to Palestine is always strong and firm. So don’t mix sports with politics,” he stated in the video.
Widodo’s intervention got here as fears grew that Indonesia may face sanctions and isolation on the worldwide soccer stage if it couldn’t assure Israel’s participation.
The nation would even be holding the match beneath the cloud of one of many worst stadium disasters in the game’s historical past after 135 individuals died in an East Java stadium stampede in October.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 workers and is printed from a syndicated information company feed)
