No matches organised by UEFA will be played in Israel “until further notice” due to the “current safety and security situation” in the country, European football’s governing body said in a statement on Thursday.
“After a thorough evaluation of the current safety and security situation in the whole territory of Israel, the UEFA executive committee decided that no UEFA competition matches shall be played in Israel until further notice,” the statement read.
The ruling will impact Israeli teams Maccabi Haifa and Maccabi Tel Aviv, which are competing in the Europa League and Europa Conference League respectively.
“The Israel Football Association and its clubs Maccabi Haifa FC and Maccabi Tel Aviv have been requested to propose alternative venues/stadiums (which must comply with all applicable UEFA regulations) outside the territory of Israel for their home matches to be used for as long as this decision remains in force,” UEFA said.
Maccabi Haifa’s game at Villarreal on Oct. 26 has been put back to Dec. 6 and Maccabi Tel Aviv’s home game against Zorya Luhansk that had been scheduled for the same day will now be held on Nov. 25.
Earlier this month UEFA postponed all matches scheduled to take place in Israel over a two-week period after Hamas’ surprise attack.
That included Israel’s match against Switzerland in 2024 European Championship qualifying at Tel Aviv’s Bloomfield Stadium.
The governing body then postponed Israel’s qualifying game against Kosovo “because the Israeli authorities currently do not allow their national team to travel abroad.”
AFP
