"FIFA defended Israel, Indonesia is heartbroken": Was it worth it? - Walla! Sport

Dozens of protesters in Indonesia against the participation of the Israeli soccer team in the World Youth Championship (Reuters)

Yesterday (Wednesday), FIFA denied Indonesia the right to host this year's Under-20 World Cup (Mondialito) following the uproar surrounding the participation of the Israeli national team, but according to the Indonesians, the reason is "failure to meet its obligations to the tournament", with the local media not mentioning the name of Israel or the turmoil around it.

There is no doubt that the decision to prevent Indonesia from hosting the tournament that was supposed to be held between May 20 and June 11 was made after the country's soccer association (PSSI) canceled the draw for the tournament because the governor of the island of Bali refused to host the Israeli team

. "A has decided, due to the current circumstances, to revoke Indonesia's right to host the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup," a FIFA statement read, "a new host will be announced as soon as possible, with the tournament dates remaining unchanged for now. Potential sanctions Against the Indonesian association may be added at a later stage."

The Chairman of the Indonesian Football Association Eric Thohir said: "Indonesia is a member of FIFA, so in any matter of international football, we must obey the rules.

I ask all football lovers in the country to raise their heads against the background of this difficult decision by FIFA. It is time for us to prove to FIFA that we are working harder to change football, towards clean and successful football."

Another country that radical Islam is hurting.

Indonesia (Photo: GettyImages, Allsport Co.)

Muslims protest in the streets of Indonesia against the Israeli team (Photo: GettyImages, ADEK BERRY/AFP)

The loss of hosting rights is a big disappointment for Indonesia, a country with a great love for the game, despite its lack of international success, since qualifying for the 1938 World Cup as the East Indies.

This is a very hard blow for the fans of the game, who were hoping to meet great teams and enjoy the pride of hosting a prestigious international tournament, one of the most important in the world of soccer, which attracts many tourists and soccer fans from all over the world.

When asked why FIFA decided to remove Indonesia as host, Zainedin Amali, the association's deputy head and former minister of sports, did not speak about Israel, saying only that "FIFA decided that Indonesia did not meet its previous commitments during the competition."

However, he also knows that protesters marched in the capital Jakarta this month waving Indonesian and Palestinian flags and demanding that Israel not be allowed to participate.

Indonesia's population is predominantly Muslim.

Most Indonesian Muslims are moderate, but in recent years there has been an increase in religious conservatism, which has spilled over into politics.

Earlier this week, Indonesia's confederation warned that the loss of hosting rights would harm the chances of Indonesian soccer teams participating in other FIFA tournaments, and that the economic losses would amount to "trillions of rupiah." Newspaper headlines in the country described FIFA's decision as "bitter and heartbreaking."

However, on the whole financial issue, FIFA announced that it remains committed to assisting Indonesia financially, following the deadly incident last year that led to the death of 135 spectators at a stadium in East Java. "Members of the FIFA team will continue to be present in Indonesia in the coming months and provide the assistance required," said a FIFA statement. As the host, Indonesia automatically qualified for the Under-20 World Cup, but it is not expected to play in it now that the new host will be the one to win the ticket. Indonesia has not played in the tournament since 1979, so for them this is also a big sporting miss.

As mentioned, Israel was not mentioned in FIFA's announcement. Commenting on the decision on the BBC, commentator Simon Stone wrote: "FIFA insists that Indonesia was not ready to host the tournament, but the feeling was that it should be moved anyway in light of the tensions surrounding Israel's qualification.

"FIFA knew that any decision to deny Indonesia hosting rights would be highly controversial, but it was also aware that it had to do everything to protect Israel's players from potential security threats in the country. Now FIFA needs to find an alternative to hosting, and quickly."

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• FIFA

• Indonesia

• The youth team