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Sydney: The Jordanian Football Association has decided to cancel the friendly match of the national team against its Indonesian guest scheduled for next week at the request of the Indonesian Football Association, while confirming that the friendly match with the Australian national team scheduled in the capital Amman will take place as previously scheduled despite the security situation in the Middle East.<\/p>\n
The Jordanian Association announced late yesterday, Thursday, the cancelation of the match scheduled for next Friday against the Indonesian national team, indicating that the Indonesian Association apologized for not holding the match.<\/p>\n
A responsible official in the Indonesian Football Association told Reuters today, Friday, \u201cWe decided to cancel the match primarily for security reasons.\u201d He added, \u201cWe know that the situation in the Middle East is not good at the moment, so we took into account the concerns that this might affect the psychological state of the players and the team. Based on that, I communicated with the coach and the president of the Indonesian Football Association to inform them that we need to have the courage to take a stand.\u201d<\/p>\n
The official confirmed that the Indonesian Association may seek to arrange another match during the international break in November, but this seems unlikely due to the limited time available.<\/p>\n
Originally, the friendly matches were scheduled to help the three teams prepare for the Asian Cup, but the tournament was postponed last Tuesday until December of next year, following attacks by the Iranian-allied Houthi group on the host country, Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n
In contrast, the Jordanian Association stated in its announcement that the friendly match between the national team and its Australian counterpart on the evening of Tuesday, November 17, at the Amman International Stadium will take place as scheduled without any changes.<\/p>\n
The Sydney Morning Herald reported today, Friday, that the Australian Football Association decided to delay the announcement of the squad for the matches against Jordan and Qatar, as some players do not wish to travel to Amman. The Australian Association did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the match against Jordan.<\/p>\n
Jordan has carried out airstrikes on what it said were sites of elements of the Islamic State organization in neighboring Syria late last month, in response to an attack targeting a church that resulted in the deaths of nine people and injuries to 40 others. Such attacks are rare in Jordan, which is a close ally of the United States. However, the Jordanian Public Security Directorate stated yesterday, Thursday, that a security personnel was killed and another was injured in an attack with a sharp tool in the capital Amman, adding that the suspect was arrested.<\/p>\n
The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has urged its citizens to reconsider traveling to Jordan, citing \u201cthe unstable security situation in Jordan and the region and the risk of terrorism.\u201d Australian authorities also advised their citizens to \u201cexercise a high degree\u201d of caution when traveling to Qatar.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n