EXCLUSIVE: Israel on brink of expulsion from 2004 European soccer finals

Jerusalem Post ^ | Feb. 19, 2003 | OFER RONEN-ABELS

[yonif]

Israel's national soccer team are on the brink of expulsion from the Euro 2004 qualifying campaign, according to a senior UEFA official, The Jerusalem Post learned on Wednesday.

The official, speaking on condition of anonimity, said that the IFA's inability to provide the required guarantees for staging the home matches in Palermo in April, has led UEFA to consider throwing Israel out of the competition.

"UEFA has been discussing the matter and its consequences during the last couple of days, and has even notified the IFA of what may happen," the source said.

"Should the IFA fail to submit the necessary guarantees by Thursday morning, Israel may well find that it has been expelled from the tournament," the source added.

Israel had been looking far and wide for a venue to host its upcoming qualifiers against France and Cyprus in their Euro 2004 qualifiers set for April 2nd and April 30th, and only the intervention of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and Israel's foreign minister Binyamin Netanyahu led to an agreement in principle that the matches in question could be hosted in the Sicilian capital.

The IFA, which has been desperately trying to complete the deal with the Italian authorities, is still waiting for the final documentation and guarantees. Repeated UEFA deadlines which had been set before the IFA and the Italians to supply the needed guarantees have not been met.

A UEFA spokesperson confirmed to The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday that:"Palermo has yet to be confirmed by UEFA as Israel's home venue for the qualifying campaign."

An official at the IFA confirmed that they were made aware of the situation but refused to comment any further on the matter.

[VaBthang4]

C'mon FReople...


Does this shock anyone?

[PetroniDE]

I will tell you the REAL reason they are threaning Israel with expulsion.

France and Israel are in the same group (Group 1). They are afraid France will be forced to surrender, LIKE THEY DID WHEN 1994 WHEN ISRAEL KNOCKED FRANCE OUT OF THE WC.

[Cacique]

No big loss. maybe israel will show the way by adopting golf as their national sport and get rid of the girlyman sport of soccer altogether.

[headsonpikes]

Axis of Weasels bump.

It's the French; it's always the French.

[Cicero]

I would guess they fear some Muslim atrocity. But the answer to that isn't to back down. Maybe they should ask the Mafia to handle security.

[PsyOp]

The French must be afraid they'll get beat. Otherwise they'd relish the opportunity to beat Isreal at soccer.

[Amerigomag]

Simple solution. Don't make the matches public or announce their location.

Broadcast them live from an obscure pitch on a military reservation.

[ambrose]

I don't care. Soccer is gay. End of story.

[UCFRoadWarrior]

Thats right.....Israel eliminated France in 1994....in front of all the Frogs in Paris

Yes...this reeks of more Euro-Anti-Semitism.

Nothing new in the international sports world. The IOC still refuses to honor the Israeli athletes killed at Munich by PLO terrorists in 1972. In 1994 at Lillehammer, Norway (Winter Olympics) a Norwegian athlete (Johann Olav Kloss, a speedskater, was the one, I beleive) wanted to honor the murdered Israeli atheltes during the opening ceremony....but the IOC refused to let him.

[PetroniDE]

See Posts #4 and #11. Israel isn't the minnow in soccer they used to be. Last time they play France is an important match, Israel played the rally monkey, France played the surrender monkey.

[PsyOp]

You mis understood my post. I meant that france was afraid the french team would get beat, which is why they want Isreal out. Hell, I'll bet our women's team could beat the Frogs.

[PetroniDE]

We could put together a pick-up soccer team here at FR that can beat the French.

[FreedomPoster]

>>get rid of the girlyman sport of soccer altogether.

I'm all for that. For an alternative (to baseball) spring sport, I nominate lacrosse. This is the second year my son has played.

It's fast and exciting, it's got scoring, features guys in pads hitting each other with sticks, and requires opposible thumbs. It all adds up to a great player and spectator sport. As opposed to soccer, where the fans riot because they're bored silly.

[hunyb]

If you think soccer is a 'girly' sport, you obviously don't know any 'soccer guys'! I am married to one, and he's more of a man than Tiger Woods will ever be!!! Golf, snort!;0)

[hunyb]

You are sooo wrong!

[You Dirty Rats]

It's too dangerous to play soccer in Israel, but it's perfectly OK to play cricket in Kenya and Zimbabwe.

Double standard.

[winner3000]

"...soccer is so gay...".

I wish people would stop saying stupid stuff like that when there are sports like Golf and Baseball around, where you don't even have to qualify as an athlete to be good at them (you could have skill in them, compete on the world stage, while being out of shape).

You can criticize soccer for being a low scoring game, but most soccer players are very physically fit in a very physical game.

By the way, France unfortunately has one of the top 3 soccer teams in the world. To think that I cheered for them when they won the world cup a few years back...it makes me ill...