Posted on 11/20/2003 2:05:02 PM PST by anotherview
Nov. 20, 2003
UEFA postpones Maccabi Haifa's Turkey match
By OFER RONEN-ABELS
European football governing body UEFA decided to postpone Maccabi Haifa's return leg with Valencia which was set to take place in Izmir on Thursday by one week.
UEFA's decision was reached after lengthy discussions at the orgenizations' headquarters in Nyon following the terrorist attacks in Istanbul on Thursday.
Haifa's designated home venue for the match is Izmir because UEFA doesn't allow European matches to take place here in Israel.
But, the staging of matches in Turkey had come into some question after Saturday's two bombings on Istanbul synagogues. Having held Valencia to a surprising goalless draw in the first leg at the Mestalla stadium, Haifa will have to wait an extra week before trying to cause one of the biggest upsets and advance to the third round of the UEFA Cup.
Galatasdaray's Champions League match with with Juventus which was originally scheduled to take place at Istanbul on Tuesday, was also posponed by a week.
UEFA's director of competition operations, Jacob Erel issued a statement which read:"UEFA has decided to postpone the most imminent matches coming up in UEFA competitions in Turkey next week, given the seriousness of the incidents that took place in Istanbul this morning and the current confusion on the ground". Erel, "Over the next few days, we will be closely monitoring the overall security situation in Turkey, together with the relevant authorities, and will remain in constant contact with the clubs and national associations concerned regarding any forthcoming matches scheduled in Turkey."
Meanwhile the venue and date for Haifa's next match is yet to be fixed.
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