Holloway: 'Premier League has never helped me'

The Jakarta Post | Mon, 05/23/2011 8:41 AM | Sports

 Ian Holloway accused the Premier League of undermining Blackpool's attempts to stay in England's top division after his club was relegated.

Holloway said "the fat lady has finished singing and I do not like the tune" after Blackpool's 4-2 defeat at champion Manchester United on Sunday, adding that the Premier League "have never helped me."

Holloway was angry because he was forced to tell players by the third Saturday in May whether options on their contracts were being taken up. In the instances of Richard Kingson, Marlon Harewood and Brett Ormerod, the answer was no.

Others - Ian Evatt and Keith Southern - are being retained but condemned to vastly reduced terms due to Blackpool's relegation to the League Championship.

China's premier to visit tsunami-hit area in Japan

The Jakarta Post | Wed, 05/18/2011 12:06 PM | World

China says Premier Wen Jiabao will visit the devastated area of Fukushima when he travels to Japan this weekend to show his country's support for reconstruction efforts after the twin earthquake and tsunami disasters.

Assistant Foreign Minister Hu Zhengyue told reporters at a briefing in Beijing on Wednesday that Wen himself decided to make the visit and that it was meant to show Chinese concern for those affected and a commitment to helping support the area's reconstruction.

While in Japan, Wen will also take part in a trilateral meeting with leaders of Japan and South Korea.

RI Premier League set for Jan. 8 kick off

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Thu, 01/06/2011 11:26 AM | Sports

Indonesian Premier League (LPI) organizers are optimistic they will be allowed to begin the tournament this Saturday, despite the fact police have yet to issue a permit for them to hold matches, pending the resolution of a rift between its organizers and the Indonesian Soccer Association (PSSI).

League spokesman Abiayasa Santoso told Elsinta radio on Thursday that the organizers would stick to their original schedule for the game.

Abiayasa insisted that the organizers had not violated prevailing regulations and would go ahead with the tournament.

Earlier on Tuesday, police said they would reject the league’s application if LPI could not end its dispute with the PSSI.

"As long as there is conflict [between LPI and PSSI], the police do not have to issue a permit," Insp. Gen. Anton Bachrul Alam said Tuesday in Jakarta.

The 2005 Law on the National Sporting System stipulates that sport organizers holding an event that would attract crowds must gain recommendations from the sport’s main association.

“For soccer, the main association is the PSSI, so they should ask the PSSI for a recommendation first. We hope that they can discuss the matter between themselves, so that everything will go well," Anton said.

The PSSI has threatened to take LPI to court for failing to request a recommendation.