Euro 2024 qualifiers in chaos as UEFA postpones all matches in Israel
All upcoming international football matches in Israel have been postponed after war broke out in the country.
Reports indicated more than 600 Israeli soldiers and civilians have been killed and another 100 kidnapped in a string of attacks over the weekend. The Palestinian militant group Hamas is understood to be behind the killings, which took place in communities around the Gaza Strip.
The postponements will affect both senior and youth fixtures, with Thursday's European Championship qualifier between Israel and Switzerland among those shelved. UEFA said 'new dates will be confirmed in due course', with both Israel and Switzerland well in the race to reach next year's tournament in Germany.
READ MORE: Four things Mikel Arteta got right as Arsenal finally beat Man City with late strike
READ MORE: Ligue 1 match abandoned as keeper is stretchered off after firework explodes on the pitch
Switzerland currently lead Group I and are two points ahead of second-place Romania with two matchdays to go. Israel sit three points off the pace-setters in third, meaning a home win this week could have seen them draw level at the summit.
"UEFA reserves a few more days to assess whether the European Qualifiers 2024 match [between] Kosovo and Israel [in Pristina] can take place on the originally planned date of October 15 or requires postponement," read a statement from the governing body. "UEFA will continue to closely monitor the situation and will remain in contact with all teams involved before making decisions on new dates and on potential changes to upcoming fixtures."
Qualifying for the 2025 European Under-21 Championship and the 2024 European Under-17 Championship have also been affected. Israel's under-21s were poised to host Estonia and Germany in a pair of qualifiers on October 12 and October 17, respectively, but those fixtures have also been postponed for now.
Tel Aviv was scheduled to host a mini-tournament involving the under-17 teams from Israel, Belgium, Gibraltar and Wales between October 11 and October 17. However, that has also been suspended in the wake of the war development
The new football season is nearly upon us and with 500 live games to watch, as well access to Cricket, Golf, F1, Boxing, NFL and the NBA across eight dedicated channels, Sky Sports is the only way to watch all the action.
Get Sky Sports from £22 a month
More than 2,000 people on both sides of the war have been reported injured as a result of this weekend's attacks, which started on Saturday morning. It's unknown how Israeli club teams will be affected following the international break this week.
Maccabi Haifa and Maccabi Tel Aviv are both involved in European competition this season, with the former competing in the Europa League while the latter is taking part in the this-tier Europa Conference League. Hapoel Tel Aviv recently confirmed former player Lior Assolin was among those killed in the Hamas attacks.
Source: Read Full Article