FIFA has stripped Indonesia of hosting rights for this year’s U-20 World Cup after calls to ban Israel from the competition gathered steam in the Muslim-majority nation this week.
The tournament was due to run from May to June in six locations across Indonesia including the holiday mecca of Bali. Last week, Bali governor Wayan Koster called for a ban on the Israeli team playing there, citing Indonesia’s support for the Palestinian cause.
FIFA said on Wednesday that Indonesia would no longer host the 24-team tournament “due to the current circumstances” without specifying details.
The soccer governing body is also considering sanctions against the Football Association of Indonesia. It is another blow for soccer-crazy Indonesia where investigations continue into a stampede at a match in East Java last October that killed 125 people and injured 320.
This week, protesters from Islamic groups backed the Bali governor’s call, gathering in Jakarta with banners displaying the Islamic declaration of faith, alongside Indonesian and Palestinian flags. Likely presidential candidate Ganjar Pranowo, who is the governor of Central Java, was among those supporting a ban.
“Israel’s long history of oppression against the Palestinian people motivates us to strongly reject Israel’s presence in any form in Indonesia,” a protester, Nur Aida, told the AP in Jakarta on Wednesday.
Read the article in the Financial Review.