It was the first life ban for a player in the country since 2008, and adds to the woeful state of football in Southeast Asia's biggest nation as it tries to recover from a crisis which saw rival federations running separate leagues.
Rumaropen's Persiwa Wamena were tied 1-1 with Pelita Bandung Raya on Sunday when referee Muhaimin awarded a penalty to Pelita with eight minutes left on the clock.
Video replays of the incident showed Rumaropen running up behind Muhaimin and landing a left-handed sucker punch to the referee's face. The bloodied ref had to be admitted to a hospital due to excessive bleeding from his nose.
The match was held up for 15 minutes before a replacement official took over and gave Rumaropen a red card.
"This was a terrible act that we cannot tolerate," said Hinca Panjaitan, head of the disciplinary committee of the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI), as he announced the ban after a meeting in Jakarta.
"It has tarnished the image of Indonesian football in the international community, I hope this punishment will repair that."
The life ban, which comes into effect today, was the first for a player in Indonesia since 2008. Five years ago, four players received the same punishment after kicking a referee and pulling down his shorts.
Persiwa, currently seventh in the 18-team league, lost 2-1 after their opponents converted the penalty.
Even it doesn't look like Pelita deserved the penalty, Rumaropen's cheap shot was even more foul. He's lucky he wasn't caned.
