Plans to bring Man U to Australia fail

MELBOURNE - The Football Federation Australia’s plans to bring English football giants Manchester United to Australia, in the wake of terrorist strike in Jakarta, has failed due to some logistical issues.

Sir Alex Ferguson’s side was due to play an Indonesian Super League XI on Monday, but following yesterday’s terrorist strike they were forced to cancel the Indonesian leg of their visit.

The Red Devils were booked at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, in Jakarta, which along with the JW Marriott, were attacked by bombers.

Following the cancellation of the trip, the FFA had approached Man U with an offer to stage change of location and a last-minute fixture in either Sydney or Melbourne against A-League champions Melbourne Victory or Sydney FC, The Age reports.

However, logistical issues have put paid to the plan with Man U Chief Executive David Gill revealing on the club’s website that the team wanted to remain in Kuala Lumpar, where they are playing on Saturday against a Malaysian XI.

“We were planning to pull out all the stops for it to happen as it would have been an attractive fixture for fans and for Sydney FC or Melbourne,” said Bonita Mersiades, FFA Director of Communications.

“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,” he added. (ANI)