UEFA to study Israel situation

A UEFA delegation is to visit Israel to assess the security situation in the country, in view of the staging of international matches in the future.

Istanbul presentation
European football’s governing body said it had taken the decision following a presentation made by the Israel Football Association president, Gavriel Levi, at this week’s meeting of the UEFA Executive Committee in Istanbul, Turkey.

Findings report
UEFA said that the delegation would be led by UEFA vice-presidents Senes Erzik (Turkey) and Angel María Villar Llona (Spain), and would report its findings to the UEFA Emergency Committee.

Club position unchanged
The UEFA statement added that the current position on club competition matches being played outside of Israel remains unchanged. In June, UEFA advised that European competition matches should not be played in Israel for the time being, but that it would continue to monitor the situation.

Emergency Committee study
"A further announcement on UEFA's policy will be made following the Emergency Committee's consideration of the delegation’s report," the UEFA statement concluded.

Home venues
The first-ever Israeli representatives in the UEFA Champions League group stages, Maccabi Haifa, are playing their home matches in Nicosia, Cyprus, while Israel's UEFA Cup teams, Hapoel Tel-Aviv and Maccabi Tel-Aviv, will stage matches in Sofia, Bulgaria.