Jordan's friendly with Indonesia cancelled over security fears

SYDNEY – Jordan have cancelled next week’s international against Indonesia at the request of the Indonesian FA (PSSI) but say a friendly with Australia in Amman will go ahead despite the security situation in the Middle East.

The Jordanian FA announced the cancellation of the Nov 13 match against Indonesia late on Nov 5, saying PSSI had apologised for not fulfilling the fixture.

“We decided to cancel it primarily due to security considerations,” a PSSI official told Reuters on Nov 6.

“We know that the situation in the Middle East is currently not good, so we took into account concerns that it could affect the psychological well-being of the players and the team.

“Based on that, I communicated with the coach and PSSI chief that we had to be brave enough to take a stance.”

The official said PSSI might look to arrange another fixture in the November international window but that was unlikely given the limited time available.

The friendlies were originally planned to help all three teams prepare for the Asian Cup but that was postponed on Nov 3 until December 2027 following attacks on host nation Saudi Arabia by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement.

The Jordanian FA said in its statement that the Nov 17 friendly against Australia at Amman International Stadium was “still scheduled to take place, without any changes”.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported on Nov 6 that Football Australia had delayed the announcement of the squad for the Jordan friendly and one against Qatar on Nov 13 because some players were unhappy about making the trip to Amman.

There was no immediate response on Nov 6 to a request for comment from Football Australia about the Jordan match.

Jordan launched air strikes on what it said were Islamic State militants in neighbouring Syria late in October in response to an attack on a church that killed nine people and injured 40.

Attacks such as the church shooting are rare in the country, a relatively stable US ally, but a security officer was killed and another wounded in a stabbing attack in Amman on Nov 5.

Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is advising its citizens to “reconsider” the need “to travel to Jordan due to the unpredictable security situation in Jordan and the region, and the threat of terrorism”.

Australians are advised to “exercise a high degree of caution” when visiting Qatar after the alert level was lowered in October. REUTERS