Chairman Of PSSI: Regarding The Flag At AFF 2020, We Will Follow Whatever The Decision Is

PSSI Chairman Mochamad Iriawan (Photo: Ulfa Gusti/VOI)

JAKARTA - PSSI General Chair (Ketum) Mochamad Iriawan commented on the possibility of not being able to fly the Indonesian flag at the 2020 AFF Cup in December.

Iriawan said, his party is ready to follow any rules or decisions regarding the raising of the flag later.

"We will follow whatever the decision is," explained Iriawan when met at the PSSI Office, Tuesday, November 23.

Although it will follow whatever decision, PSSI does not necessarily remain silent. Iwan Bule, as he is known, admitted that he had sent a letter to the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the Indonesian Anti-Doping Agency (LADI) and the AFF in an effort to make the Red and White flag fly when the song "Indonesia Raya" was played.

"We have tried as much as we can, we have tried to do it but we can't force it either," he said.

The Indonesian national team will actually appear in the 2020 AFF Cup in December in Singapore. Unfortunately, in that competition, Indonesia was prohibited from flying the red and white flag on any occasion.

This is a sanction that must be accepted by Indonesia after the Indonesian Anti-Doping Agency (LADI) was sentenced by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). The sanction is in the form of a ban on flying the country's flag in every championship that is followed, except for the Olympics as long as the penalty is still in effect.

The sanction itself was implemented when Indonesia appeared at the 2020 Thomas Cup in October 2021. At that time, the Indonesian men's badminton squad that became the champion was forced to only fly the federation flag, namely the PBSI flag.