FIFA says the Palestinian soccer association will not host two World Cup qualifying matches this month for security reasons.
The decision followed meetings Tuesday in the Palestinian territory “after which the Palestinian government confirmed that it could no longer guarantee the safety and security around the matches in question.”
A home match against Saudi Arabia, originally scheduled for last month and then Thursday in Ramallah, has been postponed a second time.
The Saudi association had refused to play in Ramallah, seeming to want to avoid going through Israeli security checks.
FIFA says the match will now be played Monday and the Palestinian federation will “provide details on the neutral ground in Asia” to host it.
A November 12 qualifying match against Malaysia will also be played on neutral ground.
— AP
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Support our work
Support our work
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, November 4, 2015
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
