Jakarta – Should the saga of the country's soccer association be turned into a film, it would be easy to frame the figure of chairman Nurdin Halid as the villain. It is harder, however, to specify exactly who the protagonist would be.

All the key actors in the continuing drama have resorted to extreme measures in their attempt to create a happy ending, lawmakers say.

House of Representatives deputy speaker Pramono Anung said the crisis of leadership at the Indonesian Soccer Association (PSSI) had turned into a power struggle between a number of political party elites.

"The wrangle between political powers is clearly visible in the PSSI debacle," the lawmaker from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) said.

The rift within the PSSI is born out of years of disappointment over the poor performance of Indonesian soccer. Public grievances deepened late last year when the national team lost to Malaysia in the final of the AFF Suzuki Cup.

Soccer fans blamed Nurdin and demanded he and other long-serving executives such as secretary-general Noegraha Besoes be removed. Anger at Nurdin and his men escalated when PSSI executives disqualified the candidacy of other hopefuls for the post of PSSI chairman earlier this year, allowing only Nurdin and his long-time financial backer Nirwan D. Bakrie, the younger brother of Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie, to run.

The decision triggered protests, especially after the public learned that FIFA, world soccer's governing body, clearly forbade convicts from participating in an election. Nurdin has previously served two prison sentences, both for corruption.

The row culminated when a planned PSSI congress last week devolved into chaos as protestors forced their way into the venue of the meeting after being denied entry by PSSI executives, who later fled the congress, citing a recommendation by FIFA. In a letter released to the media later, FIFA denied giving such advice.

The incident triggered what many claim was government intervention. Under the pretext of preventing further mishaps in the management of elections within the PSSI, Youth and Sports Minister Andi Malarangeng denounced the validity of Nurdin's leadership and stopped all funding for the PSSI until a new chairman was elected.

Rully Chaerul Azwar, a deputy chairman of the House's commission on sports and also a member of the Golkar Party, said the government's move was unwise. The commission, he said, would summon Andi, who is a prominent member of the Democratic Party, the largest party in the House.

Although acknowledging the need for reform in the PSSI, Pramono shared Rully's concern, saying the government's intervention went too far and suggesting the National Sports Committee (KONI) instead should have intervened. He said both PSSI and FIFA statues stipulated that the government was restricted to playing a supervisory role.