(PLO)- After a deadly football disaster on the night of October 1 last year, the President of the Indonesian Football Federation (PSSI) had to leave.
Billionaire Erick Thohir, 52, has replaced General Mochamad Irianwan, Inspector General of the National Police as president of the Indonesian Football Federation (PSSI).
In fact, billionaire Erick Thohir’s family is very famous not only in Indonesia but also in the world, he bought Inter Milan club and then sat as chairman. Then, Thohir sold Inter Milan to Suning Group of China.
Indonesian National Police Inspector General Mochamad Iriawan resigned from the position of President of the Indonesian Football Federation. Photo: JG |
Erick Thohir also owns a series of professional sports clubs in the US, including the DC Utd basketball club.
For many years and now, Erick Thohir is the Minister of Public Investment, which means he is the head of the state on public-invested enterprises. In 2019, he ran for the presidential election with incumbent President Joko Widodo but lost.
In Indonesia, billionaire Thohir has also been the President of the National Olympic Committee for many years. The billionaire’s younger brother, Garibaldi, is one of the youngest billionaires in Indonesia.
The reason General Mochamad Irianwan lost the chairmanship of the Indonesian Football Federation was because this police general caused the Kanjuruhan football disaster that killed 135 people in early October last year. It was the second deadliest football disaster in the history of human football.
In this disaster, the police force made a huge mistake that led to too many deaths. Police fired tear gas and incendiary bombs in the yard to quell the riots, leading to chaos, jostling, suffocating each other…
Under President Mochamad Iriawan, the Indonesian team’s lines played very poorly and the federation did not have any “push” for the football of Van Dao to have long-term development directions.
This year, Indonesia is the host of the U-20 World Cup, so Indonesian football needs a fresh face to develop.
In fact, following the Kanjuruhan disaster, Indonesian public opinion put great pressure on the board of the Football Association of this country to resign to accept responsibility and replace it with another board with more football knowledge.
Duy Duc