Persib Does Not Accept The Offer For The Trial Match Against Suwon FC, Here's Bojan Hodak's Explanation

Persib Bandung coach, Bojan Hodak (photo: Instagram.com/@persib)

JAKARTA - Persib Bandung coach Bojan Hodak explained that his team did not accept the offer of a trial against the South Korean team, Suwon FC. Bojan explained the rational reasons for the decision.

Previously, it was known that Suwon FC planned to hold a trial against Liga 1 club, one of which was Persib Bandung. The match was held on Wednesday, February 14, but the schedule was considered not ideal because it coincided with the implementation of the 2024 General Election (Pemilu).

"There is no trial match against Suwon. Because they want to play on February 14th and we can't play on that date," Bojan Hodak said in a statement quoted Wednesday, February 14.

Suwon FC had included Persib as one of his opponents in the trial agenda in a schedule upload on his Instagram. However, only a few hours later, the upload was deleted, later it was discovered because his potential opponent was not willing to play the match.

Regarding that, Bojan Hodak said that Persib could not hold trials on election day. This is because the coach emphasized that all local players have the right to participate in democratic parties.

"Because this is election day and I certainly have to give players time off to return to their hometowns and also vote. This is their duty as citizens," he said.

"Yes, tomorrow (Wednesday, February 14) is off, because of the election," explained the Croatian coach.

In exchange for the trial match, Bojan Hodak scheduled an internal game to fill the void in the agenda during the 2023/2024 Liga 1 break. The plan is for Friday, February 16, Persib players will be divided into two teams and compete in internal games.

"There's no (trial) because we can't meet opponents and this is one of the reasons. So we just play an internal game between our players," he concluded.