July 17 – Indonesia’s bid to host the 2018 or 2022 World Cup has suffered a major setback after Premiership champions Manchester United cancelled a match there because of a massive bomb in the capital Jakarta.
The English club pulled out of a planned visit after bomb attack today on the hotel where the team was due to stay in Jakarta.
United were booked to stay tomorrow and Sunday nights at the Ritz-Carlton, one of the two hotels hit by suicide bombers.
The blasts at the Ritz and the adjacent JW Marriott killed eight and wounded at least 50 more.
United informed the Indonesian Football Association that it would not play the friendly against the Indonesian All-Stars scheduled for Monday.
The team arrived earlier today in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia — the first stop of what was supposed to be a four-nation preseason tour that also includes South Korea and China.
United manager Sir Alex Ferguson lamented the cancelation.
He said: “We got the news as we landed and it is very disappointing.
“I have never been to Indonesia before and I know the Indonesian FA have worked very hard on this.
“It is terrible but we have taken what I believe to be the right decision in terms of safeguarding our players.”
United chief executive David Gill indicated the team might extend its stay in Malaysia but would consult England’s Football Association before announcing a decision.
He said: “We have to consider the safety of the players and the staff and everyone else in the team, because they are of paramount importance.”
The club said it was “deeply disappointed at not being able to visit Indonesia” and said “our thoughts go to those affected by the blasts.”
Indonesia was already the long shots among the 11 candidates bidding to host the 2018 or 2022 World Cups, including England.
The country lacks the necessary stadia and its national team have only ever qualified for the final stages of the tournament once, as Dutch East Indies, in 1938.
The bombings, which came two minutes apart, ended a four-year lull in terror attacks in the world’s most populous Muslim nation.
At least eight Americans were among the wounded, although State Department spokesman Robert Wood said none of the injuries were life-threatening.
The blasts at the high-rise hotels, located in an upscale business district in Jakarta, blew out windows and scattered debris and glass across the street.
Security is tight at five-star hotels in Indonesia.
Guests typically walk through metal detectors and vehicles are inspected, but many visitors say searches are often cursory.
The attackers evaded hotel security, smuggling explosives into the Marriott and assembling the bombs in a room on the 18th floor, where an undetonated device was found.
The bombers had stayed at the hotel for two days and set off the blasts in restaurants at both hotels.
Police chief, General Bambang Hendarso Danuri said: “They had been using the room as their ‘command post’ since July 15, and today they were supposed to check out.”
Security video footage captured the moment of the explosion in the Marriott.
The brief, grainy images show a man wearing a cap and pulling a bag on wheels walking across the lobby toward the restaurant, followed by a flash and smoke filling the air.
Authorities did not immediately name a suspect, but suspicion fell on the Jemaah Islamiyah or its allies.
The al-Qaida-linked network is blamed for past attacks in Indonesia, including a 2003 bombing at the Marriott in which 12 people died.
United States President Barack Obama, who lived in Indonesia as a child, condemned the “outrageous attacks,” as did the European Union.