Uefa halt European matches in Israel ‘for security reasons’

Governing body keeps Ukrainian and Russian clubs apart in qualifying draws for Uefa Champions League and Europa League

Besiktas midfielder Ricardo Quaresma, left, jostles with Maccabi Tel-Aviv defender Klemi Saban during a Europa League Group E match at the Bloomfield Stadium in Tel Aviv on December 1, 2011. Jack GuezShow more

NYON, Switzerland // European football’s governing body Uefa announced on Thursday that no Champions League or Europa League matches could be played in Israel until further notice “for security reasons”.

“The Uefa Emergency Panel met on 16 July and decided that, due to the current security situation in Israel, no Uefa competition matches may be played in the country until further notice,” Uefa said in a statement.

“Consequently, the Israeli clubs involved in forthcoming fixtures have been requested to propose alternative venues outside of Israel’s territory for their home legs in the 2014/15 Uefa Champions League and Uefa Europa League.”

The decision, announced on the eve of Friday's third qualifying round draw for both competitions, could affect four Israeli clubs.

In the Champions League, Maccabi Tel Aviv beat Andorra’s Santa Coloma 1-0 away in their first leg, second qualifying round tie on Tuesday. They were to host Santa Coloma for the July 22 second leg in Israel, but the match has been moved to Larnaca in Cyprus.

In the Europa League, Hapoel Kiryat Shimona have already secured their berth and so will also need to rethink their fixture.

Fellow Europa League hopefuls Hapoel Be’er Sheva and Hapoel Tel Aviv have also shifted their July 24 home matches to Larnaca.

Hapoel Be’er Sheva will take on Croatian club Split there, after their away game on Thursday. The stakes will be high for Hapoel Tel Aviv’s game in Larnaca, as they lost 3-0 away to Kazakh club Astana on Thursday.

The Uefa decision came amid the deadliest wave of violence between Israelis and Palestinians since 2012. Fighting since Israel launched Operation Protective Shield on July 8 has killed 231 Palestinians, many of them women and children, and one Israeli.

Also on Thursday, Uefa decided to keep Ukrainian and Russian clubs from playing each other “until further notice” because of the continuing unrest between the neighbouring countries.

Uefa made the ruling “in light of the current political situation” after the Russian and Ukrainian associations “expressed concerns about safety and security”.

The Uefa emergency panel ruling means Russian side Zenit St Petersburg and Ukrainian club Dnipro cannot be paired against each other in the Champions League third qualifying round.

The panel decided at a meeting on Wednesday that the turmoil in eastern Ukraine did not prevent matches being played at the home of Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk and Chornomorets Odessa.

Uefa also said a security assessment showed the western city of Lviv and the capital, Kiev, can continue to host matches.

At the club level, Uefa banned Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone and Real Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso for one match for their disciplinary offences during the Champions League final in May.

Simeone was penalised for having charged onto the pitch at the end of the match during a verbal clash with Real defender Raphael Varane. He will miss Atletico’s next European match, which will come in the 2014/15 Champions League group stage.

Alonso was sanctioned for misconduct and will serve his suspension during the Uefa Super Cup match against Europa League winners Sevilla on August 12 in Cardiff. Both clubs were also fined for improper team conduct.

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