Jordan's friendly with Indonesia is off over security fears

Jordan's friendly against Indonesia, planned for next week, will not take place. Indonesia asked to call it off, and the Jordanian football association agreed. The match against Australia, however, is still on.

What happened?

Jordan's football association announced late on Thursday that the game scheduled for Friday 13 November in Amman was cancelled. It said the Indonesian federation had apologised for not being able to play it.

An Indonesian federation official told a news agency on Friday that the decision was made "primarily for security reasons". "We know the situation in the Middle East is not good right now," he said, adding that the federation worried about the effect on the players' and the team's state of mind.

He said Indonesia might try to arrange another match during the November international break. That looks unlikely, though, because there is so little time left.

Why is the mood so tense?

The friendlies were meant to help Jordan, Indonesia and Australia prepare for the Asian Cup. But the tournament was postponed on Tuesday until December next year, which took away much of the point.

The security backdrop matters too. On 28 October, Jordan carried out air strikes on what it said were Islamic State positions in neighbouring Syria. It was responding to an attack on a church that killed nine people and wounded 40.

Such attacks are rare in Jordan, a close ally of the United States. On Thursday, the country's public security directorate said a security officer was killed and another wounded in an attack with a sharp object in Amman. The suspect has been arrested.

What about Australia?

Jordan says the friendly against Australia will go ahead as planned on Tuesday 17 November at Amman International Stadium, with no change.

Australian press reported on Friday that Australia's football federation has put off naming its squad for the games against Jordan and Qatar, because some players do not want to travel to Amman. The federation did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Australia's foreign ministry has also urged its citizens to reconsider travelling to Jordan. It pointed to the unstable security situation in the country and the region, and to the risk of terrorism.