Irfan Bachdim was married to his girlfriend

Celebrity Indonesian footballer Irfan Bachdim was married to his girlfriend, model Jennifer Kurniawan, in Germany on Friday, Kompas reported.


The wedding was held in the European country due to the bride's and groom's observance of different religions, a potential hurdle in deeply religious Indonesia.

“We have discussed the faith difference with Irfan. The marriage law here may come as an obstacle so they decided to [marry] in a foreign country,” Jennifer's manager, Erick Rachmanto, told a press conference in Kemang, South Jakarta.

Irfan is from a Muslim family. Jennifer does not follow Islam.

Erick said both pairs of parents of the couple had given their blessing for the wedding.

“We are not going to get involved in polemic about the family. We are trying to be neutral. There is no problem at all, everything runs
smoothly,” he said.

In June, Irfan's uncle complained that the family had yet to meet the bride-to-be and said they did not approve of the couple’s wedding plans.

“He should have introduced her to his family, no matter ugly she is," the uncle said. "If she believes in a different religion, get her to convert because we are fanatical Muslims.

Erick said Irfan and Jennifer would most likely hold some sort of occasion-marking party here in Indonesia, "but the date is not specified yet.