Manchester United have rejected the
opportunity to replace their ill-fated trip to Indonesia with a
visit to Australia instead.
United were due in Jakarta immediately after their
encounter with a Malaysia XI in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday but those
plans were scrapped following the terrorist attacks, one of which
was in the Ritz-Carlton Hotel where they were due to be
staying.
Club officials are trying to draw up a revised itinerary, part
of which could involve the Indonesian Select side they were
supposed to be playing on Monday evening being flown into Kuala
Lumpur.
However, the Football Federation of Australia moved quickly to
see whether United would have been interested in tackling either
Sydney FC or Melbourne Victory instead.
The move had some merit given United are extremely popular Down
Under and the Red Devils would have been assured of a rapturous
reception, as well as an estimated £1million to play at the ANZ
Stadium in Sydney.
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."
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