United say no to Australia trip
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United say no to Australia trip
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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