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 trip, 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 on the team's 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.

At the Ritz-Carlton, torn curtains flapped around broken windows and glass lay around the hotel. There was blood on the street across from the Marriott. The hotels are near each other in a business area home to many offices, embassies and bars.