Dispute with Robert Rene Alberts Remains Unresolved, Persib Hit With Another FIFA Ban

Persib Bandung has once again been placed on FIFA's transfer ban list. The club, nicknamed Maung Bandung, is prohibited from registering any new players after FIFA imposed a Registration Ban relating to a dispute with former head coach Robert Rene Alberts.

This ban takes effect starting 10 August 2026, and covers three transfer windows:  the 2026/2027 summer transfer market, the 2026/2027 mid-season transfer window, and the 2027/2028 summer transfer market.

This sanction may be lifted earlier if the dispute with Rene Alberts is fully resolved, including fulfilling all of the former coach's outstanding contested entitlements.

Root of the Dispute Between Persib and Rene Alberts

Robert Rene Alberts first took charge of Persib in 2019. The Dutch head coach was appointed on 3 May 2019 to replace Miljan Radovic.

Prior to joining Persib, Rene Alberts held coaching roles at multiple Indonesian clubs, including Arema Indonesia and PSM Makassar.

His tenure at Persib later faced severe disruption when the Covid-19 pandemic halted and impacted Indonesian football.

During this period, Persib implemented mandatory salary cuts, and Rene Alberts was among the club personnel affected by this policy.

Despite these tensions, the working relationship between Persib and Rene Alberts continued until the conclusion of the 2021/2022 competition season.

Upon entering the 2022/2023 season, their partnership was terminated just three weeks after the new competition had commenced.

On 10 August 2022, Persib and Rene Alberts publicly announced they had mutually agreed not to continue their working contract.

Critically, Rene Alberts still held a valid binding contract with Persib that was originally scheduled to run until 2025.

Under this circumstance, a number of contractual entitlements and compensation clauses owed to Rene remained to be settled by the club.

This matter escalated into a formal dispute after private negotiation efforts between both parties failed to reach a resolution. Rene subsequently filed the case to FIFA for arbitration.

Second FIFA Ban Imposed On Persib In 2026

This latest transfer ban is not the first FIFA sanction Persib has received in 2026. Maung Bandung was previously issued an identical FIFA Registration Ban in May 2026.

That earlier sanction was triggered by a separate contract termination dispute with player Daisuke Sato.

The prior ban was lifted after Persib fully completed all compensation obligations owed to the Filipino player.

Persib has acknowledged the latest sanction. In an official club release, management confirmed they will first conduct a full review of FIFA's ruling before announcing any further steps.