By Chris Wright
Remember Pieter Rumaropen? The striker who caused uproar when he hospitalised a referee by sucker punching him in the face over a dodgy penalty call in the Indonesia Super League at the weekend? Well, you’ll be no doubt glad to know that he’s been banned for life today for his appalling conduct.
The Indonesian football federation (PSSI) have today declared that Persiwa Wamena forward Rumaropen will never take to a football pitch in his homeland again.
A statement on the Liga Indonesia website said that Rumaropen’s vicious attack, which left the referee needing a face-full of stitches, had “tarnished the image” of football in the country as the powers that be continue to try and rebuild a league that disappeared up its own corrupted arse* several years ago.
“This was a terrible act that we cannot tolerate,” said Hinca Panjaitan, head of the disciplinary committee of the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI), after announcing the ban in Jakarta.
“It has tarnished the image of Indonesian football in the international community, I hope this punishment will repair that.”
A good decision even if we say so ourselves.
(Via Liga Indonesia/thanks to Pies fan Boxy Woxy for the tip-off)
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(*This from the AFP: Indonesian football was in crisis for two years with the PSSI and the Indonesian Soccer Rescue Committee (KPSI) running rival leagues.
The two finally agreed to unite last month, with the KPSI set to become part of the PSSI, after world governing body FIFA threatened to ban Indonesia from international matches if the problem was not resolved.)