The Naturalization Of Players Is Not A Sin, But The Competition And Local Development Of Kudu Is Also Improved By Dong

Indonesian national team players in the continued match of Group F of the 2026 World Cup Qualification in the Asian zone against Vietnam at the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium, Jakarta, Thursday (21/3/2024). (Between/Hafidz Mubarak A/aww)

JAKARTA The figure of Muhammad Tahir is now being discussed by netizens. The reason is that the former PSBS Biak player criticized the Indonesian National Team, which is inhabited by naturalized and hereditary players.

"Now there are too many naturalized players. Not unhealthy, just sorry, we are holding competitions domestically, what's the point of it?" said M Tahir when he was a guest star on Akmal Marhali's YouTube channel titled Football Talk.

"We only lost by playing abroad, we are domestically. We just lost. When it comes to our quality 11-12 with them. No less far away," he continued.

Not only that, M Tahir even put forward an idea to hold an exhibition match between local players and descendants. He believes he can win the match.

"Just try PSSI if you want to make a trial between local players and naturalization. [Local Player] can win, because for the sake of the chest symbol, Garuda. Who is the player who doesn't want to play in the national team? Everyone wants to play in the national team, just wait for the time and moment. There are so many players in Liga 1 who have potential, "said the player who was born on January 4, 1994.

For information, in Indonesia's last match against Vietnam in the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers on March 21 and 26, 2024, Shin Tae-yong called 28 players, with 10 of them naturalizing. Of the 28 players, 13 national team players played abroad.

M Tahir's statement immediately caught the attention of netizens. Most of them have no objection to what the former Persipura Jayapura player said.

Under the leadership of Shin Tae-Yong, there were 11 players who were naturalized. They are Marc Klok, Jordi Amat, Sandy Walsh, Shayne Pattynama, Ivar Jenner, Rafael Struick, Justin Hubner, Jay Idzes, Thom Haye, Nathan Tjoe-A-On, and Ragnar Oratmangoen.

But specifically for the Marc Klok case, he was not included in the STY recommendation project because he had been in charge of the naturalization process since 2019. The Persib Bandung player officially became an Indonesian citizen in 2020, when STY was already the coach of the Indonesian national team.

The phenomenon of naturalized players in Indonesia often causes polemics. On the one hand, naturalization is considered to be able to boost the achievements of the Indonesian national team, because by bringing in quality naturalization players, the national team has a chance of getting better success in international competitions.

In addition, naturalized players who have experience in performing overseas can bring additional competitiveness so that they can improve the quality of the national team's game.

But on the one hand, naturalized players raise the notion that the national team has lost its local identity. It is also feared that the naturalization of players can create an inequality of opportunities for potential local players, but miss opportunities to develop.

Back to M Tahir's statement, who complained about the number of naturalized players in the national team made by Shin Tae-yong. Using naturalized players in a national team is not something that is haram. This is even regulated by FIFA in Commentary on the Rules Governing Eligibility to Play for Representative Teams.

The point in the regulation is that it is stated the requirements for anyone who can defend the national team, including a player born in the country concerned, a mother or biological father born in a related country, a grandmother or biological grandfather born in a related country, a player who has lived in an associated country for five years when he was 18 years old. If you get one of the four points, every player who receives a new nationality can strengthen the national team.

Regarding the allegations of gaps or differences in opportunities between naturalized players and descendants and local players to defend the national team, there should be no need to be a prolonged polemic.

Arya Sinulingga, Member of the PSSI Executive Committee (Exco), spoke up regarding the naturalized player mentioned by M Tahir. He emphasized that as long as players have Indonesian passports, they have the right to strengthen the national team.

"Regarding naturalized players, as long as they have Indonesian blood, either grandmother or grandfather, they have rights," said Arya Sinulingga at the GBK Arena, Senayan, Jakarta, Tuesday (2/3/2024).

"So everyone in the diaspora has the right as long as they have Indonesian blood," he said.

Furthermore, Arya reminded that the arrival of naturalized players should not discourage local players.

"What is certain is that if the local players from Liga 1 are good, they will definitely appear. Now who is trying to top whose score in Liga 1? (Ramadan) Sananta. That means if he is of high quality, he can enter the national team. So don't be a polemic," he said.

Meanwhile, football observer Justinus Lhaksana also gave a response regarding M Tahir's controversial claim. He emphasized that playing abroad is not the only requirement to penetrate the Indonesian national team. Most importantly, according to him, is able to provide the best performance in Liga 1.

"You don't need to play abroad. Players like Yakob Sayuri can play amazingly in the national team to match the diaspora players. That's why he enters, often starts," explained the Instagram account @coachjustinl

"Rizky Ridho is often a starter. Then Egy, Witan is often given the opportunity to play. Hoky Caraka, Ramadhan Sananta, so they don't just play outside, players who play and are born in Indonesia can also play for the Indonesian national team," concluded Justin.