Jakarta. Indonesia's head coach Shin Tae-yong was criticized for selecting eight naturalized citizens in the national squad for a friendly match against Argentina on June 19.

Ignatius Indro, the chairman of the national team supporters' association, said the upcoming friendly provides a rare opportunity for Indonesian players to get the experience of playing against the world champion.

"But the opportunity for the local players to play against world-class opponents like Lionel Messi has been reduced by naturalized players," Indro said in Jakarta on Tuesday.

Shin has announced his selection for the friendly against Argentina. Of 26 players, eight are naturalized Indonesian citizens including Marc Klok, Stefano Lilipaly, Jordi Amat, Elkan Baggott, Sandy Walsh, Rafael Struick, Shayne Pattynama, and Ivar Jenner. 

Indro said half of the naturalized players deserve the selection because they have been with the national team for years. They include Klok, Lilipaly, Bagot, and Amat.

"But the other four only reduce the chance of local players to demonstrate their skill in front of Argentina's top players," he said.

"We regret that STY fields too many naturalized players," Indro said, mentioning the coach by initials.

Indro pointed to the recent success of the U-22 team under Manager Indra Sjafri who fielded entirely local players to win the SEA Games gold medal.

"Coach Indra Sjafri has proved that our local players can match the quality of naturalized players by winning the SEA Games," Indro said.

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