Fury, Sadness in Indonesia after FIFA Pulls Under-20 World Cup

Indonesian football players, fans and pundits reacted with anger and sadness after FIFA pulled the Under-20 World Cup from the host nation. BAY ISMOYO / AFP
Indonesian football players, fans and pundits reacted with anger and sadness after FIFA pulled the Under-20 World Cup from the host nation. BAY ISMOYO / AFP
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Fury, Sadness in Indonesia after FIFA Pulls Under-20 World Cup

Indonesian football players, fans and pundits reacted with anger and sadness after FIFA pulled the Under-20 World Cup from the host nation. BAY ISMOYO / AFP
Indonesian football players, fans and pundits reacted with anger and sadness after FIFA pulled the Under-20 World Cup from the host nation. BAY ISMOYO / AFP

Indonesian football players, fans and pundits reacted with anger and sadness Thursday after FIFA pulled the Under-20 World Cup from the host nation weeks before it was due to kick off, following protests against Israel's participation.

The humiliating loss came after two influential governors advocated banning Israel from the competition, AFP said.

Indonesia and Israel do not have formal diplomatic relations, and support for the Palestinian cause in the world's most populous Muslim-majority nation runs high, fueling local opposition to hosting the Israeli team.

FIFA's decision to find a new host -- thereby nixing Indonesia's automatic qualifying spot -- puts the country's most popular sport back in the doldrums and facing another bout of isolation.

Some of the archipelago nation's football prodigies took to social media with fury and heartbreak after losing the chance to play at what FIFA bills as the "tournament of tomorrow's superstars".

An Indonesian FA video showed players with heads bowed and their coach in tears after receiving the news late Wednesday that FIFA would seek a new host.

"We, the players, are now affected, not just us but all footballers," said 18-year-old striker Hokky Caraka.

On Thursday morning, flower boards for the players popped up outside the FA headquarters in central Jakarta, including one that read "do not give up on your dream".

Indonesians inundated the Instagram page of Central Java governor Ganjar Pranowo -- one of the leading candidates in next year's presidential election -- with negative comments after he opposed Israel's participation.

Bali's governor had also joined the anti-Israel chorus and around a hundred conservative Muslim protesters held an anti-Israel rally in Jakarta this month.

'Very painful'
But there was popular support for the tournament the country was handed in 2019, with many viewing it as a source of national pride.

Jakarta pledged to guarantee Israel's participation despite its pro-Palestinian stance, yet opposing voices became too loud for FIFA.

"This is truly a very painful incident for the Indonesian people. Those who made the noise and made us fail... must be held accountable," said Akmal Marhali, expert at football watchdog Save Our Soccer.

Indonesian officials said losing the tournament could cost the country hundreds of millions of dollars.

FIFA threatened further sanctions and could exclude Indonesia from 2026 World Cup qualifiers that begin in October. It was banned for a year in 2015 over government interference.

But for Indonesia's fervent fans, it was the loss of their first ever major football tournament that hurt the most.

"I am very disappointed because it has been my dream to watch Indonesia hosting a global football event," said 40-year-old supporter Jarnawi, who like many Indonesians goes by one name.

The game in the country has long been dogged by shaky infrastructure and fan violence, and is still reeling from a deadly stadium stampede last year that killed more than 130 people.

But it was the clash of politics and sport that ultimately cost it the tournament many had long hoped for.

"We are talking about youths who want to play soccer. They do not have any more interests," said pundit Justin Lhaksana.

"Why is this issue blindly mixed with political games?"



Norris Feels ‘Nowhere Near’ His Best as Formula 1 Title Contest Heats up Inside McLaren 

Formula One F1 - Bahrain Grand Prix - Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Bahrain - April 13, 2025 McLaren's Oscar Piastri poses on the podium after winning the Bahrain Grand Prix alongside third placed McLaren's Lando Norris and McLaren team principal Andrea Stella. (Reuters)
Formula One F1 - Bahrain Grand Prix - Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Bahrain - April 13, 2025 McLaren's Oscar Piastri poses on the podium after winning the Bahrain Grand Prix alongside third placed McLaren's Lando Norris and McLaren team principal Andrea Stella. (Reuters)
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Norris Feels ‘Nowhere Near’ His Best as Formula 1 Title Contest Heats up Inside McLaren 

Formula One F1 - Bahrain Grand Prix - Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Bahrain - April 13, 2025 McLaren's Oscar Piastri poses on the podium after winning the Bahrain Grand Prix alongside third placed McLaren's Lando Norris and McLaren team principal Andrea Stella. (Reuters)
Formula One F1 - Bahrain Grand Prix - Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Bahrain - April 13, 2025 McLaren's Oscar Piastri poses on the podium after winning the Bahrain Grand Prix alongside third placed McLaren's Lando Norris and McLaren team principal Andrea Stella. (Reuters)

Lando Norris may be top of the F1 standings, but he feels like he's driving "nowhere near" his best and can't work out why.

After placing third Sunday at the Bahrain Grand Prix — won by his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri — Norris said he felt far more confident last year, when he lost out on the drivers' title to Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

"I’m confident that I have everything I need and I’ve got what it takes," Norris said. "I have no doubt about that, that I’m good enough, but something is just not clicking with me in the car."

Norris, who qualified sixth for Sunday's race, saw Piastri close to within three points of him in the standings.

"As soon as you're not gelling (with the car), then you're going to be in issues, and that's what I have at the moment," Norris said.

Even though he's still leading and won the season-opening Grand Prix in Australia last month, Norris said he hasn't felt comfortable all year with McLaren's car — widely considered the fastest on the grid.

Last year, "I knew every single corner, everything that was going to happen with the car, how it was going to happen. I felt on top of the car. This year could not have felt more opposite so far," Norris said.

"Even in Australia, I won the race but never felt comfortable, never felt confident. The car was just mega and that’s helping me get out of a lot of problems at the minute, but I’m just nowhere near the capability that I have, which hurts to say."

Norris and Piastri combined to help McLaren win the constructor title in 2024, the team's first since 1998.

Teammate battles which shaped F1

The years when F1 has been dominated by a single team have produced some of the most bitter rivalries, as McLaren witnessed in the late 1980s with a feud between Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost.

More recently, the relationship between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg turned sour during their championship fight at Mercedes in 2016.

Norris and Piastri are keeping things civil, though there were awkward moments last year when Norris was asked to make way for his teammate in a race.

McLaren has faced tests from other teams, with Verstappen winning in Japan last week for Red Bull and Mercedes' George Russell competing with Norris and Piastri on Sunday. Still, the pace of the other teams seems to be fluctuating from race to race, and McLaren's isn't. The gap of 58 points on the constructor standings to second-place Mercedes after just four races is vast.

"We haven't had a consistent challenger week-in, week-out," Piastri, a 24-year-old Australian, said. "As long as we have the best car, it's going to be tight between Lando and I."