Independence Is The Reason PSSI Appoints Yoshimi Ogawa To Lead The Referee Committee

The chairman of PSSI explained the reason for appointing Yoshimi Ogawa as Chairman of the PSSI Referee Commission (doc. PSSI).

JAKARTA - PSSI General Chairperson (Ketum), Erick Thohir, explained as long as he appointed Yoshimi Ogawa as Chairman of the PSSI Referee Commission. In fact, previously the Japanese man held the position of Deputy of the Referee Committee.

The decision was conveyed by Erick Thohir along with the announcement of leadership changes on a number of committees under the auspices of the federation.

Regarding handing over the position of Chairman of the Referee Committee to Ogawa, Erick said that this could not be separated from the FIFA warning which prohibited concurrent positions.

Previously, the Chairman of the Referee Committee was held by Erick Thohir. However, on the other hand, Erick Thohir is also the General Chairperson (Ketum) of PSSI.

Erick had to leave the position of Chairman of the Referee Committee because the field was independent and needed someone who was an expert in his field.

Ogawa was then chosen because he was considered to have had enough experience because he had worked for 1.5 years as Deputy Chairman of the PSSI Referee Committee.

"With the new statute, it's clear, the Referee Committee is an independent committee. So, indeed the one who leads the Referee Committee is the expert in its field, including the Technical and Development Committee."

"I think these two figures, one has helped us transition for 1.5 years (on the Referee Committee), the other is new. If you look at the track record so far, it's in several qualified countries. So, we try to give it a chance," said Erick Thohir at a press conference in Jakarta, Tuesday, September 16, 2025.

The decision to reshuffle the chairman on a number of PSSI committees was not without reason. This is a realization of the results of the PSSI Exco (Executive Committee) meeting in Surabaya some time ago.

In addition to announcing the Referee Committee now headed by Yoshimi Ogawa, today's agenda also announced changes to several committees, such as the Disciplinary Committee to the Technical and Development Committee.

The Disciplinary Committee is now led by Umar Husin. Meanwhile, PSSI Technical Director Alexander Zwiers has also been appointed as Chairman of the new PSSI Technical and Development Committee.