Life is not easy for footballers, especially foreign ones, in Indonesia, where Nepali football star Rohit Chand is soon to play.

As rival football bodies battle it out over legitimacy claims, a recent case has shown how vulnerable foreign players can be, a former journalist based in Indonesia, told Nepalnews.com while declining to be identified.

The AFP recently reported that the row started following the formation of the breakaway KPSI after four members of the PSSI (Indonesia Football Federation) were expelled. The KPSI (Komite Penyelamat Sepak Bola Indonesia) set up the Indonesian Super League as a rival to the official Indonesian Premier League. According to reports the dual-league rivalry hit the national team after the KPSI told players from its unofficial top-tier Liga Super not to make themselves available.

Persatuan Sepak Bola Pekanbaru dan Sekitarnya (PSPS), which has signed Nepali footballer Rohit Chand for a monthly salary of $3,500, play in Indonesia Super League, backed by the KPSI.

The league has been grabbing the headlines across the South East Asian country after Diego Mendieta, a Paraguayan striker of a club playing for the league recently succumbed to a viral infection. Local reports said that the league has been drawn flak from football fans for allegedly contributing to his death by creating havoc in Indonesian football’s management, which they say led to Mendieta not receiving four months of salary before he died.

Nepali fans need to lower their expectations, she adds. The 'lonely death of Diego Mendieta', should serve as a lesson to all those involved in Indonesian football.

"The pasture in Indonesia is not always green for foreign football players.". nepalnews.com