Jakarta. The Youth and Sports Ministry has addressed the issue of the ban on public viewing (nobar) of the 2024 AFC U-23 Asian Cup semi-final match between the Indonesian national team and Uzbekistan by the MNC Group, the official broadcaster of the tournament.

"The ministry supports all initiatives for nobar organized by several regional governments to accommodate the wishes and enthusiasm of the Indonesian people in supporting the Garuda team, as long as it is not commercialized," said Deputy Minister of Sports Gunawan Suswantoro at the Kemenpora office in Senayan, Jakarta, on Sunday.

After the news of the ban on holding public viewings for the U-23 Asian Cup, the call to boycott MNC Group trended on social media X (formerly Twitter). The hashtag #boikotMNC occupied the second position in trending topics on social media X with more than 3,700 posts. Several netizens expressed their disappointment over the ban on hosting public viewings for the Indonesian national team.

Gunawan urged everyone to continue supporting the Indonesian national team as they compete in the AFC U-23 Asian Cup in Qatar. Moreover, the squad led by Shin Tae-yong is currently aiming for a spot in the Paris Olympics this year.

"Let us always pray for the Garuda squad's success. Up to this point, their achievements have been remarkable," he said.

Gunawan said that together with the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) and the MNC Group, which owns the exclusive media rights license and is the official broadcaster, they highly appreciate the Indonesian people for providing full support to the Garuda team.

Meanwhile, MNC Group Corporate Secretary Syafril Nasution clarified the news about the ban on public viewing of the Indonesian U-23 national team in the AFC U-23 Asian Cup. He emphasized that there is no ban on public viewing; however, any commercial activity during the public viewing event is not allowed.

"We, the MNC Group, want to clarify that what we did was not a ban. Here, we want to clarify that the organizers should register their event," he explained.

Syafril stated that the MNC Group is proud of the achievements of the Indonesian U-23 national team. The MNC Group, he said, wants to continue to provide support by broadcasting the AFC U-23 Asian Cup matches so that they can be watched by the entire Indonesian people.

"We allow public viewing as long as it is not commercialized. Commercialization here means not charging a fee or placing sponsors or advertisements. If you want to organize a public viewing, we fully support it," he said.

The Indonesian U-23 national team is currently competing in the semi-final of the 2024 AFC U-23 Asian Cup. The Young Garuda squad will face Uzbekistan at the Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium on Monday night. If successful, Rizky Ridho and his teammates will meet the winner of the match between Japan and Iraq.