Man United cancel Jakarta game after bombings

By John O'Brien

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Manchester United have cancelled the Jakarta leg of their Asia tour after the hotel where they were due to stay in the Indonesian capital was bombed on Friday.

The English champions were scheduled to play against an Indonesia 'All Star' team on Monday on the second leg of their pre-season tour, which also included stops in Malaysia, South Korea and China.

The team cancelled the Indonesia leg, however, after bomb blasts ripped through the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels in Jakarta's business district, killing nine people and wounding dozens.

"It's a bit of a shock for all of us. We just got news of this when we landed," club manager Alex Ferguson told a news conference at the team's hotel shortly after their arrival in Kuala Lumpur.

"There was no other solution as we had to safeguard our players. So it's the correct decision."

Witnesses said the bombings at the Marriott and the Ritz-Carlton, where the team were due to stay, were minutes apart and it appeared both had occurred inside the hotels, judging from the way windows were blown out.

'TERRIBLY DISAPPOINTED'

Ferguson added that the timing of the bombings was just an unfortunate coincidence and something he had never experienced in over two decades of visiting the region with the club.