AFC president Mohamed bin Hammam, who wants the tour postponed, met with Premier League chairman Sir Dave Richards and Manchester United chief executive David Gill but neither side backed down.

"We have presented our case to Manchester United and fully explained our position," bin Hammam said after the two-hours of talks, adding that he appreciated Gill and Richards making the trip for a face-to-face meeting.

The standoff was sparked two weeks ago when bin Hammam called United "disrespectful" for scheduling their tour during the Asian Cup finals, the region's flagship competition from July 7-29.

"At the end of the day, we have not left any stone unturned to seek a solution amicably, and we very much hope that we can all seek a compromise to protect the interests of the AFC Asian Cup 2007 and the development of Asian football.

"We have made the request, and we shall await the response," bin Hammam said.

An AFC official described the meeting as "cordial", and stressed that "the ball is in Manchester United's court."

The official added that United have contractual obligations to third parties which need to be resolved before any commitments can be made to the AFC.

Gill and Richards slipped out of a side door at AFC House to avoid the waiting media and made no comment.

They later met with Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) secretary-general Ibrahim Saad and deputy president Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, who remain convinced the Malaysia game will go ahead.

"As far as we are concerned, the cabinet has made a decision that the game will go on. We will proceed with it," Ibrahim Saad told AFP.

"But we will not be involved in any of the promotion and publicity. As far as we are concerned, our priority is the Asian Cup."

Bin Hammam, backed by FIFA president Sepp Blatter, wants Manchester United's game against a Malaysian XI on July 27 and the rest of their tour to South Korea, Jaoan and Macau called off.

The AFC say Malaysia, through its Sports Ministry, gave an undertaking that it would honour its commitments to the Asian Cup as one of four host nations, which includes not holding any other football matches while it is on.

During the meeting with Gill and Richards, bin Hammam emphasised "the contractual obligations of Malaysia and FAM as a host association."

Last week he warned of "wide-ranging legal repercussions" if United visit Malaysia during the tournament.

The Red Devils though have the support of the government, which invited them as part of their 50th anniversary celebrations of independence.

Tourism Minister Tengku Adnan Mansor reiterated to AFP Wednesday that as far as his ministry was concerned the match was still on.

"We are sad AFC's (president Mohamed Bin) Hammam is unable to compromise," he said after the government's weekly cabinet meeting.

"We have no problems. Malaysia will stick to the date of the Manchester United tour. We want to host this tour. Tourism Malaysia is committed to the tour. As far as we are concerned, July 27 is fixed."

United plan to kick off their pre-season commercial tour against J-League champions Urawa Red Diamonds on July 17 in Saitama before heading to the South Korean capital for a showdown with FC Seoul on July 20.

Alex Ferguson's team then travel to Macau for a match against Shenzhen on July 23, before ending the tour in Kuala Lumpur against a Malaysian XI.