JAKARTA - PSSI confirmed Persipura Jayapura replaces Persija to appear in the 2021 AFC Cup with Bali United. This is according to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) letter received on Friday, December 18.
"AFC wants clubs playing in the 2021 AFC Cup to comply with the 'Entry Manual of the 2021 AFC Club Competition' regarding 'Sporting Criteria'," said PSSI acting secretary General Yunus Nusi, quoted from the official website of PSSI in Jakarta, Sunday, December 20.
Initially PSSI informed the AFC that they had determined the 2019 Indonesian League champion Bali United and the second place in the 2018-2019 Indonesian Cup Persija as Indonesia's representatives in the 2021 AFC Cup.
The basis for PSSI's decision regarding the selection of Persija is because one of the 2021 AFC Cup participant slots is owned by the local tournament champion or in this case the Indonesian Cup.
However, the champions of the 2018-2019 Indonesian Cup PSM Makassar failed to get an AFC professional license in 2020 so that their share was transferred by PSSI to Persija.
PSSI's direct selection of clubs entitled to the 2021 AFC Cup is carried out through the Executive Committee meeting mechanism. This is different from usual because Indonesia has not completed the Indonesian League 1 2020 and has not yet held the 2020 Indonesian Cup due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, AFC did not pass the PSSI decision regarding Persija because it considered the policy to be inconsistent with the 2021 edition of the "Entry Manual for AFC Club Competitions".
In Article 9 of the 2021 edition of the "Entry Manual for AFC Club Competitions" on "Sporting Criteria", the order of representatives of the AFC member associations for the 2021 AFC Cup is the champion of the top division league, the champion of the domestic cup, the second rank of the top division league, the third rank of the division league. top and top fourth division.
Then, it was also explained that if one of the clubs in the league that is entitled to AFC competition has not fulfilled the AFC license, it can be replaced with another team with the highest position after the club.
In addition, the AFC also assessed that local tournaments such as the Indonesian Cup are one level below the top division leagues. So they do not allow the second rank of the Indonesian Cup to the AFC Cup if there is still a third rank in League 1 who passes the AFC license process.
And for the case in Indonesia, Persipura is indeed ranked third in the 2019 Indonesian League under the Persebaya runner-up who does not have an AFC license.
With the inauguration of Persipura to accompany Bali United in the 2021 AFC Cup, PSSI asked the Mutiara Hitam club to complete several administrative requirements with a deadline until Monday, December 21.
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