Posted July 28, 200618 yr Liverpool prepare for Israel tie BBC Sport Liverpool face a trip to Israel after being drawn against Maccabi Haifa in the third qualifying round of the Champions League. Arsenal will meet Lithuania's FK Ekranas or Croatia's Dinamo Zagreb as they also try to reach the group stage. Hearts will play Greek side AEK Athens if they beat Bosnian team Siroki Brijeg in the second qualifying round. Cork City could play AC Milan if they win their second qualifying fixture against Crvena Zvezda. Uefa insists they will not put Liverpool players, fans and officials of Liverpool at risk as they face the prospect of travelling to the troubled Middle East. Official Rob Faulkner explained: "We've asked the Israel FA and relevant authorities to give us assurances concerning safety." Faulkner explained that the Israeli FA had been asked to look at alternative venues, should the game be played outside the country. He said: "We all see the news and have serious concerns - and the situation is changing daily. But this is the right way to do it and we're asking the right people. "We'll be in discussions with both clubs but the key is the safety of players, fans and officials - and we wouldn't go ahead if we didn't have those assurances. "We have played with problems and conflict there before and also played games away from Israel. That is Plan B - a back-up plan." Maccabi president Jacob Shachar added: ""Tel Aviv is quiet - let's hope things will stay quiet and we will be able to host Liverpool. "It's an unpleasant situation although we understand Liverpool's concerns." Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein admitted The Gunners had set their sights on going one better than last season, when they lost in the Champions League final to Barcelona. He said: "We want to win every competition we enter and to go that one extra step from last year. We have set our standards very high and we have to try and reach them again. "We are also looking forward to hosting a European game at our new stadium at Ashburton Grove. I'm sure all our fans will be very proud of it because it is magnificent - one of the best in Europe." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Champions League third qualifying round draw: Sheriff Tiraspol/Spartak Moscow v Liberec Shakhtar Donetsk v FH Hafnarfjordur/Legia Warsaw FC Zurich/SV Red Bull Salzburg v Valencia Levski Sofia/Sioni Bolnisi v Chievo Hearts/Siroki Brijeg v AEK Athens CSKA Moscow v Djurgardens IF/SCP Ruzomberok AC Milan v Cork/Crvena Zvezda Galatasaray v Mlada Boleslav/Valerenga Standard Liege v HIT Gorica/Steaua Bucuresti Austria Magna v Benfica FK Ekranas/Dinamo Zagreb v Arsenal FC Copenhagen/MyPa v Ajax Hamburg v Osasuna FK Metalurgs/Dynamo Kiev v Fenerbahce/B36 Torshavn Liverpool v Maccabi Haifa Lille v Debrecen/Rabotnicki Kometal First legs to be played on 8/9 August; second legs 22/23 August.
July 28, 200618 yr Author Liverpool v Maccabi Haifa Unlucky :funky: Hopefully Maccabi Haifa will be chucked out of the competition due to their country's "illegal" occupation of southern Lebanon, so hopefully Liverpool should get a bye to the Group stages.
July 28, 200618 yr I'd much rather to prefer to play Maccabi Haifa than a lot of other teams invloved in the 3rd round qualifying, as lots of English clubs have played against them in the past few years so its much easier to prepare for a game. I just hope Liverpool aren't forced to play in Israel. The game should hopefully be moved to a neutral venue in Cyprus if UEFA have any sense.
July 28, 200618 yr I'd rather Haifa than Zagreb :mellow: Why ? If Liverpool players refuse to play in Israel they'll be out.
July 29, 200618 yr Because Zagreb are much better than Haifa. Yeah, there's a war there, but they shouldn't be allowed to play there and if Fifa had any sense (:lol:) then they'd move it.
July 29, 200618 yr Author Where are Zagreb even from ? :mellow: Zagreb are from Croatia (part of the former Yugoslavia).
July 29, 200618 yr Why ? If Liverpool players refuse to play in Israel they'll be out. :lol: IDIOT! They will just move it to a neutral ground.
July 29, 200618 yr :lol: IDIOT! They will just move it to a neutral ground. It was said just after the draw on SSN if Liverpool players refuse to play in Israel if it's not moved they'll lose it. re****. :rolleyes:
July 30, 200618 yr It was said just after the draw on SSN if Liverpool players refuse to play in Israel if it's not moved they'll lose it. re****. :rolleyes: Ermmmm no they will not lose it.
July 30, 200618 yr If that's the case then you may aswell give Haifa a place in the final now as no one in there right mind would play there.
July 31, 200618 yr Well we'll find out on August 7th now as UEFA are set to make a decision then. If the current state of Israel doesn't improve very soon then i'd like to think that the game will be moved to a neutral venue but this is UEFA after all <_<
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