Thohir: 'The rumors of Indonesia changing the coach cause division before the SEA Games'

Thohir denied the news that Thailand coach Mano Polking had replaced coach Shin Tae-yong. Both contracts expire on December 31, 2023. Previously, the president of PSSI confirmed that he was in contact with Park Hang-seo - a former coach of the Vietnam team, which was fake news.

Thohir was annoyed by the rumors, considering this a form of psychological warfare ahead of the 32nd SEA Games. "For Polking, ask Thailand. With Park Hang-seo, ask Vietnam," he told Bola. "Maybe this is a war before the SEA Games to cause division."

After losing the right to host the 2023 U20 World Cup, Indonesia focused heavily on the goal of winning the SEA Games gold medal for the first time. Indonesia does not face many challenges in Group A when facing Timor Leste, Philippines, Myanmar and host Cambodia.

The head of Indonesian football urged fans to be careful about news about national team coaches. "Rumors from other countries to prevent our team from excelling," said Thohir. "It disrupted the communication between PSSI and Coach Shin."

PSSI President will meet coach Shin this week, to discuss a number of topics, including negotiating a contract extension with the Korean leader.

The future of coach Shin Tae-yong was questioned when PSSI transferred leadership from Mochamad Iriawan to Erick Thohir in February 2023. The previous president plans to extend the contract with coach Shin, while Thohir needs more negotiations.

Currently, coach Shin is almost exclusively focused on the national team, while the U22 team is assigned to coach Indra Sjafri in charge. Shin's immediate goal is to qualify for the 2026 World Cup. It is likely that Mr. Shin will be extended because Indonesia also attends the 2023 Asian Cup, which will take place in January 2024 in Qatar.