The Indonesian Army (TNI-AD) says that dozens of their officers present at Saturday’s Indonesian Soccer Association (PSSI) congress were there for official reasons.

TNI spokesperson Brig. Gen. Wiryantoro said that officers were deployed after coordinating with Riau Police. â??They were deployed upon the Riau Policeâ??s request.They suspected that the PSSI congress had the potential to proceed less than smoothly, so they asked the TNI for help,â? he said Sunday, as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.

Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) member Haris Azhar said earlier that the presence of TNI members might signal the army’s intervention in PSSI internal matters.

Wiryantoro said, â??Which [TNI] members are we talking about here? It has to be proven first. I wouldnâ??t dare to say that they were not TNI members, but those who were deployed were ordered to wear uniforms.â?