Like I said the end of the week is rather full of disappointing news for United fans it seems. This one is rather shocking! Earlier in the day we had news about the 3 month absence of Obertan and here is the piece of shock-
Bombs placed at the Jakarta Marriott and Ritz-Carlton, the hotel due to host the United squad for four days from Saturday evening, exploded in the early hours in Jakarta leaving nine dead and many more injured.
While the club was earlier working on possible options, it is now realised that they have decided to keep the safety as a priority to fanboyism and money generated with the event. Here is the latest report on United website:
Following the explosions in Jakarta – one of which was at the hotel the team were due to stay in – and based on advice received, the Directors have informed the Indonesian FA that the Club cannot fulfil the fixture in Jakarta on the 2009 Asia tour.
We are working on a revised itinerary outside Indonesia with the promoters, and will make a further announcement when these decisions have been made.
We are deeply disappointed at not being able to visit Indonesia and thank the Indonesian FA and our fans for their support.
Our thoughts go to all those affected by the blasts.
Speaking at a press conference shortly after arriving in Kuala Lumpur, Sir Alex Ferguson said: “It was a shock. We got the news just as we landed and it’s very disappointing.
“The Indonesian FA have worked very hard to get us over there and it’s a terribly big disappointment for them. There’s no other decision we could have taken in regards to the safeguarding of our players. We feel we’ve made the right decision.”
Club captain Gary Neville echoed his manager’s sentiments:
“We’re all disappointed not to get the opportunity to go to Indonesia. One of the great things about playing for this club is the chance you get to play in different countries and meet our fans from around the world. The players are as disappointed as everybody else.”
While it is a pity that the fans in Indonesia will miss the much awaited opportunity of seeing their favourite heroes in person, it is also a fact that Advice on the Foreign Office website as long ago as April suggested that “there remains a high threat from terrorism [in Indonesia]. We believe that terrorists continue to plan attacks, which could be indiscriminate, including in places frequented by expatriates and foreign travellers.”
Just to remind once again, here is the Travelling squad: Edwin van der Sar, Tomasz Kuszczak, Ben Foster; Jonny Evans, Patrice Evra, Rio Ferdinand, Gary Neville, Wes Brown, John O’Shea, Fabio da Silva; Nani, Zoran Tosic, Darren Fletcher, Anderson, Darron Gibson, Paul Scholes, Michael Carrick, Ryan Giggs; Michael Owen, Dimitar Berbatov, Federico Macheda, Wayne Rooney.
