Indonesia shrugs off FIFA suspension

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The Indonesian government today said FIFA's decision to suspend it should not be "mourned excessively" and authorities were now focused on reforming the country's crisis-wracked football.
The ban, announced yesterday, means Indonesia cannot compete in world football and makes the national side ineligible for June matches that are qualifiers for both the 2018 World Cup and 2019 Asian Cup.
The sports ministry, whose move to oust the Indonesian football association (PSSI) sparked the crisis, defended its actions and said the ban was "really not what we wanted".
But it added in a statement: "FIFA's sanction need not be mourned excessively."

"We must be confident and believe that if reform of national football can be done with full sincerity, consistency, transparency and with better governance, then achieving great performance will no longer be a dream."
The government will take measures to restructure the system of national football management and will restart domestic tournaments, it added.

It urged the PSSI to view the sanctions "objectively and wisely" and called for "solidarity" to deal with the crisis.
The sports ministry has insisted that taking on the PSSI, which has long been dogged by allegations of corruption and mismanagement, was a necessary step to clean up Indonesian football, which has for years been beset by crises.

The latest row erupted in April when the PSSI halted the country's top-flight league due to a disagreement with the sports ministry over the participation of two clubs.