Football:Indonesian League scheduled to resume but not in East Java

Football:Indonesian League scheduled to resume but not in East Java

JAKARTA - The Indonesian Super League is scheduled to restart on Saturday following a two week suspension but no matches will be played in East Java after the government asked police not to sanction games, local media reported.

The directive was issued via the national police but so far only clubs in East Java had been made aware, leaving the majority of the 18 teams in the dark about whether they will resume action over the weekend.

"All league matches in East Java would also be prohibited," Gresik United's secretary Hendri Febry was quoted as saying by the Bolapop sports website after saying the league leader's fixture against PSM on Sunday afternoon was also cancelled.

The Ministry of Youth and Sports asked the police on Monday to not give permission to matches this weekend but several clubs had not been informed so were going ahead with preparations, the report said.

The league suspension came after the local football association (PSSI) continued to ignore recommendations from the ministry to ban East Java-based clubs Arema Indonesia and Persebaya Surabaya because of ownership concerns.

Both sides have four points from their opening two games.

Persebaya were scheduled to host Persiba Balikpapan on Sunday evening, while Arema are due to play at home to Pelita Bandung Raya on Saturday.

The resumption of the league was demanded by the PSSI's new leader, La Nyalla Mahmud, who was elected on Saturday despite the sports ministry also suspending his body in the dispute last week.

FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation have both said they are monitoring the situation but no penalties have been handed out yet for the government interference which normally warrants a global ban.

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