Mauricio Souza Deems JIS Field Unfit After Persija's Loss

Persija Jakarta coach Mauricio Souza highlighted the condition of the pitch at Jakarta International Stadium (JIS) after his team drew 1-1 against Dewa United in the BRI Super League continuation on Sunday, March 15, 2026.

According to Souza, the quality of the pitch at the stadium affected the flow of the match, making it difficult for both teams to display their best game.

"In my opinion, this match was technically very poor. If analyzed, there were almost no truly clear goal-scoring opportunities from either team," said Souza in the post-match press conference.

In that match, Persija took the lead first through Maxwell's goal just before the end of the first half. However, that lead didn't last long after Dewa United managed to equalize through Alexis Messidoro early in the second half.

Souza assessed that the grass condition prevented his team from implementing their usual playing strategy, which relies on short passes and a fast tempo.

"The pitch doesn't meet the minimum conditions to provide a good Football match and spectacle," he stated.

The Brazilian coach also emphasized that this situation made it difficult for Persija to build attacks effectively, even though his squad includes several players with good technical quality.

Besides criticizing the pitch condition, Souza also highlighted Persija's record when playing at JIS. According to him, the Kemayoran Tigers have actually dropped several important points when playing at home.

"Here we dropped points against Bali (United, 1-1 draw), Malut (United, 1-1 draw), and now Dewa. That's a total of six points lost at JIS," said Souza.

He compared this situation with Persija's performance in away matches, where the team managed to win against the same opponents.

Souza also believed Dewa United's goal resulted from a Persija player's decision-making error in a crucial situation late in the match.

According to him, the ball should have been cleared far from the dangerous area to relieve pressure. However, the player's decision instead brought the ball back into midfield, opening up a counterattack opportunity.

"The ball was at our player's feet. It should have been kicked backward or out of play, but it was played back into a duel. From there, they launched a four against three counterattack and eventually scored," he explained.

This draw keeps Persija in third place in the Standings with 52 points. They failed to close the gap on league leaders Persib Bandung, who have 58 points, and second-placed Borneo FC with 54 points.

At the same time, the match between Borneo FC and Persib Bandung also ended in a 1-1 draw.