Persija Vs Ratchaburi Match Colored By Dead Electric Incident, Thomas Doll: In Europe Can Also Happen

Persija Jakarta Coach, Thomas Doll (center). (Photo via Antara)

JAKARTA - Electrical problems colored the match between Persija Jakarta and Thai club Ratchaburi, Sunday, June 25, evening. This friendly match took place at Patriot Candrabagha Stadium.

Persija managed to win this match. The only goal of the Kemayoran Tiger team was scored by Riko Simanjuntak in the 59th minute.

The power outage occurred during the first half which only lasted half the time. The Patriot Stadium was even pitch black for more than 60 minutes, before the electricity could return to power and the match could continue. When the electricity went out, Persija and Ratchaburi players remained on the ground while still actively moving. They did not enter the dressing room or just sat on the edge of the field. "It can happen anywhere. Including Europe," said Doll at a press conference after the match, as quoted by Antara. The German coach was also grateful that the audience was still patiently waiting for the match to continue, and did not do things that hurt the team. "But everyone is waiting. Including the players and fans, want to see us play against Ratchaburi. Supporters are patiently waiting," said Doll.

When some of the lights were turned on, The General Chairperson of The Jakmania Dicky Soemarno asked Persija fans to keep their security and comfort inside the stadium. Dicky reminded that throughout the Patriot Candrabagha Stadium as Persija headquarters, this is the first time the problem of power failure has occurred at the stadium. Persija President Director Ambono Janurianto also apologized to all parties, especially the audience and Ratchaburi team for the incident. "Of course we would like to apologize profusely, especially for Jakmania (Persija fans) who were present tonight, and Ratchaburi who wanted to be patient until the match started again," said Ambono.