Cyprus loses out on Liverpool clash

CYPRUS will not be hosting Champions League third qualifying round tie between Maccabi Haifa and Liverpool, according to UEFA officials.
Cyprus seemed to be first choice for the tie after UEFA insisted the game could not be played in Israel.

But it is understood that Kiev was eventually chosen because Israeli officials could not agree financial terms with the Ministry of Justice that would supply policing and security for the match.

Yesterday afternoon, an announcement was issued on UEFA’s official website stating that “the second leg of Maccabi Haifa FC’s UEFA Champions League third qualifying round tie against Liverpool FC will be played in the Ukrainian capital Kiev on Tuesday August 22, with no European competition matches permitted to be staged in Israel in light of the ongoing troubles in and around the country.”

UEFA added that “the UEFA administration will continue to monitor the safety and security situation in Israel and further decisions will be made according to changes in this situation.”

The game is to be played at Dynamo Kiev’s Valery Lobanovskiy stadium.
Maccabi Haifa played its Champions League games in Cyprus in the 2002/2003 football season, where they enjoyed impressive victories over Manchester United and Greek giants Olympiakos.

At the time, Maccabi officials had expressed concern at the security costs involved in hosting the games.
Liverpool lead 2-1 from the first leg at Anfield.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.