TOKYO: FIFA president Sepp Blatter has described the world body’s decision to grant Indonesia an extension to solve their football crisis as a “Christmas gift”, urging them to get their “house in order”.
Football in the South-east Asian nation has been in turmoil for the past two years because of a row between the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) and their rivals the Indonesian Soccer Rescue Committee (KPSI).
FIFA had set PSSI a Dec 10 deadline to reconcile their differences with KPSI, who run a rebel league splitting the nation’s top teams, but the regulator’s Executive Committee on Friday extended the deadline by three months.
“It’s been two years now, two years, that they have tried to put together the two parts of the football organisations but they couldn’t do it,” Blatter told a news conference in Tokyo yesterday.
“They have asked for another three months, until March next year, and also the Asian Football Confederation were advocating that and FIFA have agreed.
“I think it was quite a Christmas gift to Indonesia that they haven’t been suspended.
“We have given (them) until the next meeting of the (FIFA) Executive Committee on the 20th and 21st of March next year to bring their house in order.”
The rival administrations failed to show unity despite signing a memorandum of understanding in June vowing to bring Indonesian football under one umbrella.
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