NO MATCHES ORGANISED by UEFA will be played in Israel “until further notice” due to the “current safety and security situation” in the country.

Israel’s national teams and club sides Maccabi Haifa and Maccabi Tel Aviv, who are both competing in Europe, must find alternative venues outside the country to fulfil their UEFA fixtures.

“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,” read the statement from European football’s governing body.

“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.”

Maccabi Tel Aviv are managed by record Ireland goalscorer Robbie Keane. Their scheduled Europa Conference League game for Thursday week against Zorya Luhansk has been postponed to Saturday, November 25.

Israel’s national team were due to stage Euro 2024 qualifiers against Switzerland and Romania – the two teams above them in Group I – in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem respectively next month. 

Meanwhile, the Belgium-Sweden Euro 2024 qualifier that was halted following the fatal shooting of two Swedish fans will not be replayed and the points will be shared.

As per the wishes of the two countries’ FAs, the 1-1 result at half-time, when the match was stopped, has been “confirmed as final” and “each team is awarded one point with the Group F standings to be updated”, said UEFA.

On Monday, two Swedish supporters were killed near Brussels city centre in a suspected Islamist gun attack.

The encounter went ahead as scheduled that evening before being abandoned at the request of the two teams at half-time with the score 1-1.

The travelling Sweden fans were kept in the King Baudouin Stadium before being escorted by the police to their hotels at 2 am local time.

The suspected attacker, a 45-year-old Tunisian national living illegally in Belgium, was fatally shot in a police operation on Tuesday.

“We are pleased to hear that UEFA has come to a decision and that the decision is in line with what both federations wished for. However, sporting matters are secondary, our thoughts are with the victims and their families,” said the Belgian FA in a statement.

On Tuesday, FIFA president Gianni Infantino took to Instagram to say that he was “shocked” and “saddened” by the shootings.

Belgium are already qualified for Euro 24 while Sweden had already been mathematically eliminated. 

Written by AFP and posted on the42.ie