"However, the financial problems do not only hit the breakaway clubs, but also the clubs which play under the PSSI competition."

He said 13 clubs from both leagues are months late with payments, according to the players' association.

"On this matter, PSSI said on its official website that they would help the cost of flying Mendieta's body back to Paraguay, but they won't pay the players' salary as Persis did not play under PSSI competition," Hadi said.

"On the other hand, Persis officials said they have transferred Mendieta's salary to his wife in Paraguay. "

Hadi said an out-of-contract Brazilian footballer, Bruno Zandonadi, also died in similar circumstances three months ago after being infected during treatment in an Indonesian hospital.

While Solo mayor Hadi Rudyatmo has said he will pay Mendieta's hospital bills, the act of charity has come too late for FIFPro, the body which represents footballers across the world, with a membership of 60,000.

FIFPro launched a "Black Book" earlier this year, detailing the abuse of players in Eastern Europe. It has repeatedly fought cases for players facing violence, arbitrary termination of contracts and non-payments of salaries.

It has also taken up the case of 2010 World Cup finalist Wesley Sneijder, who has been asked to extend his contract for no additional pay by Italian club Inter Milan.

"FIFPro demands that the Indonesian football association make an end to the structural mismanagement of countless football clubs," the Netherlands-based group said in a statement.

"It is a disgrace for the whole of professional football in Indonesia," added Frederique Winia, secretary general of FIFPro's Asia division.

"I know countless stories of players who are intentionally not paid by their club and have to wait for months for their salary. But I have never before heard a story where a seriously ill player has been left completely to his fate by a club.

"I assume that both the club and the national football association of Indonesia realize that they have seriously failed and that they have much to explain, particularly to the family and relatives of Diego Mendieta. The least the club can do is to pay the arrears in salary to his family."

Mendieta's body has been transported back to Paraguay, where he will be buried.

His wife Valeria remains adamant that the Indonesian authorities are solely responsible for Mendieta's death.

"He was practically abandoned, the only help he received was from three Paraguayan companions, nothing other than that," she told Radio Cardinal.

Mendieta's plight has drawn widespread sympathy.

"It's a heartwrenching tale," Indonesian football expert Antony Sutton told CNN.

"As an ex-pat myself, I know what it's like to be on your own in a foreign country and left to fend for yourself," said Sutton, author of the "Jakarta Casual" blog.

"He hadn't been paid in four months and was all alone without anyone to pay the bills. The Persis Solo fans, who are extremely passionate, did their best to raise money and made about $300.

"But before I found out about the story it was too late and he was dead. It's a real tragedy."

While the case of Fabrice Muamba, the former Bolton player who collapsed on the pitch following a cardiac arrest, drew intense media coverage, Mendieta did not have the same fortune.

Muamba's collapse at Tottenham's White Hart Lane last March was broadcast around the world after the midfielder's heart stopped for 76 minutes.

When that happened, Twitter went into overdrive, players across the world wore "Muamba" shirts to express their solidarity and news channels went into overdrive.

His subsequent recovery has also been well documented, with interviews beamed across the globe and an autobiography recently released.

But in Indonesia, where football is not king and the sport is in disarray, Mendieta had little chance.