The Manchester United football team was the target of a bomb attack on the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Jakarta two weeks ago, according to a message posted on the internet purporting to be from Indonesia's most wanted terrorist suspect Noordin Mohammed Top.
The message, in which Malaysian born Noordin claims responsibility for the twin hotel bombings that killed seven people, confirms that the Ritz was targeted by a suicide bomber because it was about to host "the Crusaders" Manchester United who were due to play an exhibition match in Jakarta.
It says the attack was a warning to Indonesians "against the arrival of the soccer club Manchester United" at the hotel.
"These players are Christians, so Muslims should not honour and respect these enemies of Allah," it said.
The posting, written in Indonesian and Arabic, claims the attacks on the Ritz and the Marriott hotels were specifically aimed at American interests and US allies.
Manchester United abandoned its planned game against an Indonesian all-star side after the bombings. The posting described the team as "salibis", or Christian crusaders, who were unworthy of the support of Muslims.
The posting has not been independently verified but is described as "plausible" by Sidney Jones, the Jakarta based analyst for the International Crisis Group. Indonesian police are examining the posting, which carried Noordin's name and identified his group as "Al Qae'da in Indonesia."