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Ammon News - AMMAN (Jordan Times) — Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr has apologised to Jordan's ambassador after the country's football coach was detained by customs officials at Melbourne's international airport for about four hours despite having a valid visa, The Associated Press reported on Friday.

Adnan Hamad was stopped at customs on Wednesday after arriving from New Zealand, where the team had been training ahead of its World Cup qualifying match against Australia.

According to Australian media, Jordanian players waited for around two hours for their coach and then left the airport without him.

Jordan Football Association (JFA) said it "strongly rejected" the action and it would seek an official clarification from Football Federation Australia (FFA).

A spokeswoman for the immigration department said Hamad was required to confirm his immigration status, but declined to give further details.

Jordan and Australia will play on Tuesday in Melbourne as part of Group B Asian 2014 World Cup qualifiers.

In a statement issued Wednesday, Khalil Al Salem, JFA secretary general, said he was surprised at the absence of any representative from the Australian football federation when the national team arrived in Melbourne despite a bilateral agreement signed between the two associations before the start of the World Cup.

But FFA denied having failed to send a welcoming party, according to Australian media.

An FFA spokesman was quoted by Adelaide Now newspaper as saying that federation officials were at the airport to greet the team but couldn't intervene in border issues.

"FFA regrets any inconvenience caused, but we make the point that the operations of Australian customs are not a matter over which federation has control," the spokesman said.