Referees Must Dare To Take Firm Decisions In Liga 1 2024/2025

JAKARTA - PSSI General Chairperson (Ketum), Erick Thohir, conveyed a message ahead of the 2024/2025 Liga 1 on August 9, 2024. He wants the competition to run better, one of which is in terms of referees who must have the courage to make decisions and be firm.

In fact, when met after the press conference for the launch of Liga 1 2024/2025, Tuesday, August 6, 2024, Erick Thohir said that it was necessary for the referee to give a red card to players who protested a lot. It also refers to the regulations used by FIFA in international matches.

"The Law of the Game education must also be carried out. According to FIFA rules, the player's protests are now only (can be done by) the captain on the pitch."

"So, it's crowded (if players protest) it can be all yellow cards. Please referee dare, just give me a red card if (players) protest a lot," said Erick Thohir, quoted on Wednesday, August 7, 2024.

Furthermore, Erick Thohir also emphasized that improving the quality of field justices has become one of PSSI's focuses in the last few months.

The chairman of PSSI hopes that the judges on duty in the field will be able to continue to show the best quality while leading the field.

"Since a few months ago, I want to make sure the quality of the referee continues to be improved. It's not perfect, but it's better. They have a commitment to improve their capabilities, physical, and receive awards, such as the best referee's prize," he said.

"It could also be that the referee's salary is still the same as the top five in Asia. We also make sure there is insurance to protect them."

"I witnessed for myself at the beginning, it was impossible to move forward, but the referee's economy was slumped. It was real, yes. When there was a referee selling tofu flowers."

"It is impossible to move forward if we do not protect the referee. Referees are components of the match and must be expensive, just like players and coaches," he said.

In addition to making maximum efforts in terms of personal referees, their performance in the 2024/2025 season will also be optimized with video assistant referee (VAR).

"We want to repair the referee with VAR technology. Last season we struggled with VAR (preparation), only this year will start VAR in full season."

"In the 2024 President's Cup it is very positive, I know there are clubs that grumble, but VAR is fair. Give them a chance."

"Apart from VAR, we also agree that there are foreign referees as guest referees. Maybe per month there is one (foreign referee) to increase the confidence of our referees," said Erick.