Indonesians issue apology

We would therefore kindly ask your apology and, with deep regret, we will ensure that such an unpleasant case will no longer occur in the future.

PUTU Randu Wahyu Prudada (center) flashes his middle finger during the championship match of the 30th SEA Games men’s volleyball competition.

The national volleyball federation of Indonesia issued its apology following the inappropriate gesture made by its star player — Putu Randu Wahyu Prudada — during the gold medal game of the men’s volleyball competition of the 30th Southeast Asian Games last week.

In a letter to the Larong Volleyball sa Pilipinas, Inc. (LVPI), the National Volleyball Federation of Indonesia secretary general Yudi Sushariyanto said they regret Randu’s behavior during their championship match against the Philippines.

Sushariyanto said they don’t tolerate the behavior of their superstar and assured the Filipinos that it won’t tarnish the good relationship between the two countries.

“We actually have discussed Randu’s bad gesture among our federation members and all of us condemned what he had shown during the final match between Indonesia and the Philippines,” said Sushariyanto in an email to LVPI secretary general Ariel Paredes.

“We would therefore kindly ask your apology and, with deep regret, we will ensure that such an unpleasant case will no longer occur in the future.”

The 6-foot-5 Randu drew a firestorm of criticisms from Filipino fans after flashing his middle finger and showing a throat-slitting gesture in the gold medal match against the host country.

Although the Indonesians prevailed, 21-25, 25-27, 17–25, Randu’s action still left a bitter taste in the mouth of local fans, who cheered wildly for the Philippines after it made history by advancing to the finals for the first time in 42 years.

It wasn’t the first time that Randu drew heat.

During their encounter in the preliminaries, Randu was bombarded by an avalanche of jeers for his on-court antics in the second set.

Then, he was seen hushing the crowd when he was at the service box to spark wilder boos.