Australia Vs Indonesia Record: Bribery Allegations Have Shrouded “Garuda” in Sydney

The Indonesian national team has never been spared from misfortune during visits to Australia's home ground since participating in the World Cup qualification duel in Sydney, March 1973. In addition to always returning with defeats, the "Garuda" squad was once accused of accepting bribes, resulting in their largest loss against Australia.

Indonesia participated in the 1974 World Cup qualification round for the Asia (AFC) and Oceania (OFC) zones in Australia under the leadership of coach Endang Witarsa and manager FH Hutasoit. They included 21 of the best players of that era, such as Ronny Paslah, Iswadi Idris, Waskito, Ronny Pattinasarany, Anwar Ujang, Abdul Kadir, and Anjas Asmara. However, Indonesia was powerless in the two games against Australia, the host team, at Sydney Sports Ground.

In the first meeting on March 13, 1973, Indonesia suffered a 1-2 defeat. Initially trailing due to a goal by Ernie Campbell, Indonesia responded with a quick attack concluded by a strike from Iswadi Idris. Australia ended the first half in the lead after Adrian Alston scored the second goal against Ronny Paslah three minutes before halftime.

Without prior anticipation, Indonesia's first away match in Australia turned out to be the best performance against the "Socceroos," Australia's nickname. This is because, in the subsequent five away games in the "Land Down Under," Indonesia not only failed to avoid defeat but also could not score a single goal against the host team's net.

Signs of a poor tradition in facing Australia on the smallest continent in the world began to emerge during the final game of the 1974 World Cup qualifiers. At that time, Indonesia concluded the competition in Australia with a crushing defeat of 0-6. Three goals were scored against Indonesia's goal in each half.

Interestingly, in that match, goalkeeper Paslah had to be substituted after conceding four goals due to his body colliding with the goalpost following a save against Australia's attempt. Paslah's replacement, Yudo Hadianto, had to retrieve the ball from his net twice.

It was the biggest score in the 1974 World Cup qualifying round held in Australia. As a result of the absolute defeat, there were allegations that Indonesia received bribes from Australia to lose on purpose. Indonesia's defeat caused Iraq to lose points to Australia, thus failing to advance to the next round. In the final standings of Group B1, Australia collected nine points, while Iraq had eight points.

The alleged bribery was echoed by Iraqi fans who watched the match live. They shouted at the Indonesian players sitting on the bench. They taunted Indonesia for “selling” the match to lose to Australia.

The taunts from Iraqi supporters made two Indonesian players, Iswadi and Ronny Pattinasarany, furious. They almost approached the Iraqi supporter zone to attack the spectators who taunted and even spat towards the Indonesian bench.

Luckily, security officers at the Sydney Sports Ground were alert. They were able to prevent the two Indonesian players from entering the Iraqi supporters' stand, and the Iraqi supporters were also prevented from entering the Indonesian bench area.

Witarsa strongly denied the bribery accusation. “Wow, how is that possible (the match was fixed)? We were indeed outmatched because we only fielded reserve players. Besides, this is a matter of national pride, how can we be bribed,” said Witarsa, who also worked as a dentist, in the March 27, 1973 edition of Kompas.

According to Witarsa, Indonesia's failure to compete in the 1974 World Cup qualifiers was due to the team's "very honest" play, meaning they did not engage in physically aggressive actions like other teams, such as Australia, Iraq and New Zealand.

Apart from that, Witarsa also began to highlight the symptoms of the lag of Indonesian coaches' insights in the international arena, especially in terms of understanding tactics. He also suggested that PSSI improve education for national coaches after returning from Australia.

"Basically, all our coaches must be upgraded, including myself," said Witarsa.

Eight years later, the Indonesian national team returned to Australia. This time, Indonesia faced the Socceroos in the 1982 World Cup qualifying round, May 20, 1981.

It was Indonesia's last chance to visit the Land of the Kangaroos for a World Cup qualifier. The Garuda squad will only return to Australia for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, or more than four decades later.

In that match, Indonesia coached by Harry Tjong lost 0-2 at the Olympic Park Stadium, Melbourne. Australia's victory was contributed by goals from Alexander Kosmina and Alan Davidson in the first half.

Compared to the first visit to Australia in 1973, the only player who survived the 1982 World Cup qualifiers was Ronny Pattinasarany. The player who was famous when he played for PSM Makassar wore the captain's armband in Melbourne. He replaced Anwar Ujang as the squad leader in the 1974 World Cup qualifiers.

Indonesia only visited Australia after the turn of the millennium. The Garuda team came to Perth to play a charity match for the victims of the Aceh Tsunami, March 29, 2005. Unfortunately, the match failed to provide a good "gift" for the people who were still grieving from one of the biggest natural disasters in the history of the republic. Indonesia was crushed 0-3.

Indonesia's last official visit to Australia was in 2010 in Brisbane. Indonesia lost 0-1 in the 2011 Asian Cup qualifying match, March 3, 2010.

Hopefully, the Indonesian national team coached by Patrick Kluivert can end the series of bad dramas every time they visit Australia, Thursday (20/3/2025), at the Sydney Football Stadium. Because, breaking the curse in Australia is a challenge that the Garuda squad must realize before realizing the dream of flying to the 2026 World Cup.

1. Australia 1-2 Indonesia (1974 World Cup qualifiers)

Ernie Campbell (23’), Adrian Alston (42’); Iswadi Idris (36’).

2. Australia 6-0 Indonesia (1974 World Cup qualifiers)

Jimmy Mackay (3', 40'), Attila Abonyi (23', 54'), Raymond Richards (72'), Ray Baartz (78').

3. Australia 2-0 Indonesia (1982 World Cup qualifiers)

Alexander Kosmina (29'), Alan Davidson (33').

4. Australia 3-0 Indonesia (Friendly)

Ante Milicic (24', 60'), David Zdrilic (85').

5. Australia 1-0 Indonesia (2011 Asian Cup qualification)

Mark Milligan (42’).