Erick Thohir's Politics And Football

JAKARTA PSSI General Chair Erick Thohir announced the dismissal of Shin Tae-yong as coach of the Indonesian national team even though the chances of competing in the 2026 World Cup are still wide open. Erick reasoned that this decision was taken to increase the chances and dreams of the Indonesian people watching their national team proud to appear in the most prestigious football event in the world.

In a broadcast quoted on Saturday, January 11, 2025, Erick admitted that his decision to fire STY was not popular in the eyes of the public. Because, with the various achievements and successs achieved with the Indonesian national team, the South Korean coach has been considered a hero of Indonesian football.

However, this decision must be taken after dynamics took place within the national team which was considered to have the potential to block the positive pace of Jay Idzes et al in facing the final four matches of Group C in the third round of the 2026 World Cup Qualification in the Asian zone.

"This (decision) is not a populist thing in the eyes of the public. However, we (PSSI) must take it to maintain our opportunities and dreams of all watching the national team compete in the 2026 World Cup. If we prioritize popularity, of course, we will maintain STY until at least the third half is finished in June," said Erick.

Yes, the decision taken by Erick Thohir and his colleagues at PSSI by firing STY is like a big gamble. Moreover, his successor is Patrick Kluivert whose coaching track record is not as flashy as Coach Shin. If the Dutch meener was able to pass the Indonesian national team to the 2026 World Cup, Erick Thohir's popularity would certainly be cooled up. On the other hand, the popularity of the former owner of Inter Milan will sink even more, not only in the eyes of football lovers but also in the national political arena.

Loh, is there a relationship between popularity in the football scene and national politics? Political observer Adi Prayitno stated that in Indonesia it is difficult to separate football from politics. Moreover, in recent years the position of Chairman of PSSI has always been occupied by politicians, including Erick Thohir.

"That's right, ideally we have to believe that sports are sports, politics is politics. If you are playing football, don't talk about politics, don't talk about politics, don't talk about football. But, when for example Erick Thohir becomes the General Chair of PSSI, it is difficult for the public not to talk about political matters," he said, Sunday, January 12, 2025.

He gave an example, when Ridwan Kamil wanted to run in the Jakarta Pilkada, the most resistant and destructive against Ridwan Kamil was that RK was considered a supporter of Persib Bandung (bobotoh) so that it was forbidden for his law to run in the Jakarta Pilkada where the majority of Jakarta was a supporter of Persija (The Jack Mania).

Therefore, people cannot turn a blind eye if football must be linked to political affairs because in Indonesia so many people are related to football have something to do with political elements. Likewise with the figure of Erick Thohir who incidentally is the Minister of SOEs.

"If we want to pull a little back, Ganjar Pranowo is bullied, his supporting voice slowly moves to another place because he refuses the Israeli national team to compete in Indonesia which results in Indonesia being dropped as the host of the U-20 World Cup. Ganjar's electability and popularity, which at that time was significant, then went free not only in the eyes of football lovers but the wider community," explained Adi.

He said, ahead of the 2024 presidential election, Erick Thohir was one of the figures who had very high popularity and was predicted to be Prabowo Subianto's companion. This cannot be separated from his success as Chairman of PSSI who is considered capable of fixing Indonesian football. "That's why it's difficult to eliminate relations with political affairs with football in Indonesia," he added.

The Dismissal Of STY Perjudian Besar Erick Thohir

Adi said football in Indonesia is sexy for politicians because it has fanatical fans. Therefore, if a politician successfully leads a football organization either at the club level or at PSSI, football fans can become a constituent base for five years of political interests.

Therefore, he considered that if the dismissal of STY became a gamble from Erick Thohir's political career in the future. If the replacement for STY, namely Patrick Kluivert, was able to bring the Indonesian national team much greater, Erick Thohir's figure would definitely imagine being a potential popular leader in 2029, both as a presidential candidate or vice president.

"But on the other hand, when STY's dismissal turned out that in the future it was not in line with public expectations, it was certainly a bit complicated for Erick Thohir to get sympathy from football fans in Indonesia. Because if we count the average per day, public resistance when STY was fired was still high. This is proof that it is still difficult to separate political affairs from football in Indonesia, "said Adi.

Marselino Ferdinand became the center of attention after scoring two goals when Indonesia beat Saudi Arabia 2-0 at the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium, Tuesday (19/11/2024). (Instagram/@marselinoferdinan10)

"It's okay"

"It's okay"

"It's okay"

"It's okay"

KPN executive director Adib Miftahul also believes that it is difficult to dismiss the emergence of the assumption that success or failure in leading PSSI will not affect Erick Thohir's political career. He gave an example, ahead of the 2024 presidential election, Erick received a lot of support from football fans to be promoted as vice presidential candidates.

At that time (before the 2024 presidential election), Erick's success in generating Indonesian football, including winning the 2023 SEA Games gold and bringing in the Argentine World Champion, had made him harvest support. Qualifying for the 2026 World Cup can certainly be Erick's momentum in the future political arena. But if STY's dismissal turns out to be fruitless, of course there will also be consequences for Erick's political career," he said.

However, Erick Thohir dismissed all assumptions that his steps and policies as PSSI General Chair were related to his political career. He emphasized that as the General Chair of PSSI, he was only focused on managing the federation and progress of Indonesian football.

"Don't mix the ball with politics. We have conveyed it several times, my duty as chairman of PSSI until 2027. I don't like sports mixed with politics. There are their respective duties," he said.

"And I've been in this world of sports for a long time than I've been a public official. Because I've never positioned myself as a politician, I work as a public service," added Erick Thohir.