Manchester United have turned down a final plea to fulfil their
Far East tour match in Indonesia - and also rejected the
opportunity to earn £1m by going to Australia instead.
Sir Alex Ferguson and his squad will remain where they are for
an extra few days before flying to Seoul on Wednesday as
planned.
A number of alternatives were being discussed, some with more
vigour than others. And one that was dismissed quickly was an
appeal from the Indonesian government to reverse their decision to
abandon the second leg of the trip.
"Manchester United needs to show that they are with us not just
in words, but in deeds," said presidential spokesman Dino Patti
Djalal.
"There is no more powerful message to the world than to continue
with the Jakarta match as planned.
"Of all the great feats that have been and will be achieved by
Manchester United as a great football team with a heart, this one -
proceeding with the match in Jakarta as a measure of solidarity -
will be long remembered by history."
Given United were supposed to be staying at the Ritz-Carlton,
one of two hotels targeted by suicide bombers that left eight dead
and over 50 injured, the reaction was understandable.
"The decision to cancel the Jakarta leg of the tour was not
taken lightly," said a club spokesman.
"But after an act of terrorism, the club received advice from a
variety of sources, including our own Foreign Office. That advice
has not changed and so the club's decision has to stand.
"Everyone at the club is disappointed not to be able to play in
Indonesia but it has a responsibility to its players and
staff."
It is estimated the total loss incurred by the cancellation will
be around £4m when refunds to supporters and the loss of commercial
revenue are taken into account.
Off the table is a £1m offer to play a single match in Sydney
made by the Football Federation of Australia.
The offer of a match - against either Sydney FC or Melbourne
Victory at the ANZ Stadium - had some merit given United are
extremely popular Down Under.
However, the extra travel - it would have meant a nine-hour
flight to Sydney and then 11 hours up to Seoul, where United are
set to play on Friday - made it a non-starter given they are
heading back to Europe straight after a game on the Sunday in
China.
"We were planning to pull out all the stops to make it happen,"
admitted FFA director of communications Bonita Mersiades.
"However, their commitments meant the game could only be played
on Monday, which we were willing to organise, but there was a lot
of to-ing and fro-ing on their side, so unfortunately it wasn't
possible."
In addition to scheduling difficulties, United are still
knocking back questions about why they put themselves in this
position given previous warnings of terror attacks in Indonesia,
where over 200 people were killed in the Bali bombings in 2002.
However, chief executive David Gill insists the correct
authorities were consulted and United were right to arrange the
game.
"We are experienced at travelling," said Gill. "We don't take
these decisions lightly. We discussed the situation with the
relevant authorities and it was the right decision at the time. The
experts felt it was a safe place to go."
Manchester United have confirmed they will play a second match
against a Malaysia XI in Kuala Lumpur on Monday.
The terrorist attack in Jakarta forced the Red Devils to
postpone a planned trip to Indonesia and, although efforts were
made to relocate that fixture, ultimately it has proved
impossible.
So, with Sir Alex Ferguson keen to play four fixtures on tour as
originally planned and an offer to fly to Sydney rejected on
geographical grounds, United have reorganised another game against
opponents they defeated 3-2 at the Bukit Jalil Stadium.
United chief executive David Gill confirmed a request had been
made by the Indonesian government for United to fulfil Monday's
fixture despite the bomb blasts that killed at least nine people
and left at least 50 injured but this was rejected.
"The presidential office made a plea for us to go but, after
discussions with the tour organisers and the Foreign Office, we
decided it was not appropriate," he said.
"We had to make a decision very quickly and it wasn't easy but
we feel this was the right one.
"We have a lot of talented footballers at Manchester United and
we have to make sure they are safe, but that goes for everyone
associated with the club.
"These situations are not easy but I am sure people will
understand and one day we hope to go back."