Indonesian football fans were thrilled to see Italian side AS Roma touch down in Jakarta on Friday as part of their pre-season tour. Indonesian immigration officials? Not so much.
After arriving in Jakarta for the first time in the club’s history ahead of their “AS Roma Indonesia Day 2015” programme, officials informed the Serie A side that five players would not be able to enter the country.
Seydou Doumbia, Victor Ibarbo, Adem Ljajic, Antonio Sanabria, and Gervinho, who had been close to agreeing a move to Al Jazira, were denied entry and instead of joining their team mates for Saturday's events at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, they were put on planes bound for Rome.
The team did not specify why the players were not allowed to enter the country.
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Roma are on the final leg of their pre-season tour after taking part in the International Champions Cup tournament in Australia, where they beat Real Madrid in a shoot-out and lost to Manchester City in the same manner.
Roma CEO Italo Zanzi was frustrated that the players were unable to take part in the events.
“The reception that we received at the airport, along the streets and at the hotel was sincerely the best reception that I have seen anywhere,” he told reporters at the team hotel in Jakarta according the team’s official website.
“We had an unfortunate situation at the airport that was very frustrating as five of our players were not allowed in the country. They are now on their way back to Rome.
“It’s real disappointment for us, given that we’ve made a substantial effort to be here.”
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