UEFA: Football's coming home
After football matches in Israel were suspended since July 12 due to war in Lebanon, Union of European Footbal Associations announces games return to Israel
The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) is set to announce on Friday morning that Israeli clubs can hold home matches in the Tel Aviv area only, Ynet has learned.
The games will return to Tel Aviv under the same security conditions that helped bring the games back to Israel just over two years ago, when a similar ban was imposed due to security concerns.
This means that Hapoel Tel Aviv will be able to host the second leg match against Bulgarian side Chernomoretz at the Bloomfield stadium. The team could also host playoffs for the European championships.
Israel's national side can also play their matches in Israel after they beat Andorra in the claification stages to the Euro 2008.
Maccabi Haifa may be the only “loser” in this decision, because it will have to host its home games in the Tel Aviv area and not in its home stadium in Kiriyat Eliezer.
The football association has been informed of UEFA’s decision on Thursday evening, but the association decided to postpone the announcement to Friday morning.
Hapoel Tel Aviv to host second leg match against Chernomoretz (Photo: Reuters)
Games suspended due to war
On July 12, the war in Lebanon broke out and prompted the UEFA to suspend international matches in Israel. The team that ultimately suffered from that decision was Maccabi Haifa who did not get the chance to host Liverpool in Israel, and had to travel to Dinamo Kiev’s stadium to play the Reds.
Hapoel Tel Aviv was also affected by the decision when it had to host Slovenia’s Domzale in Holland. The Reds will be the first to profit from the return of the games to Israel as they will host Chernomoretz, which they beat 0:1 in the away match.
