FIFA Drops Heavy Sanctions!

FIFA illustration. (Photo: Twitter/@FIFAcom)

JAKARTA - The International Football Federation (FIFA) has officially imposed sanctions. The head of world football gave heavy sanctions to Persikabo President Bimo Wirjasoekarta in 1973.

FIFA imposed a two-year ban on football-related activities for Bimo. The sentence was handed down through the FIFA Ethics Committee, Tuesday, April 4, evening of Western Indonesian Time (WIB).

"The judicial council (Ethics Committee) has prohibited the president of the Tira Persikabo club, Tuan Bimo Wirjasoekarta, from taking part in football-related activities for a duration of two years (suspended for a probationary period of three years)," said an official FIFA statement.

FIFA declared Bimo guilty of intimidation, coercion, threats and exploiting a player.

"The Judgment Council also imposed a fine of 10.000 Swiss francs (approximately IDR 164.516.296) on Mr. Wirjasoekarta," continued the statement, as quoted via Antara.

In its statement, FIFA said that Bimo had violated the 2023 edition of the FIFA Code of Ethics Article 24 (Physical protection and mental integrity), Article 26 (Abuse based on position), and Article 14 (General duties).

This decision was conveyed to Bimo today local time and will be followed by notification of the reasons for imposing sanctions within the next 60 days according to the Code of Ethics.

Although he did not mention the case or problem that dragged Bimo, it was suspected that this was related to Persikabo's dispute with his former player Alex Goncalves.

The Brazilian player who has defended Persikabo from 2020 to 2021 is known to have demanded payment of salary in full, even though at that time PSSI had issued a decree regarding limiting player salaries by 25 percent due to the vacuum in League 1 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Alex then complained about his case to FIFA when he moved to Persita Tangerang. However, Persikabo had withheld the player's exit letter which prevented him from joining Persita. The 32-year-old player then addressed the problem via social media in October 2021.

Persikabo then reported Alex to the police using the defamation article against Ben and the club.

After that, it was known that Alex made peace with Persikabo and stated that his uploads were not all true and at the same time apologized to the club. Persikabo has also fully paid off the player's salary arrears in July 2022.