Germany’s match against Israel, which had been scheduled for 25 March 2015, has been called off. The German Football Association (DFB) agreed to cancel the game after receiving a request from the Israel Football Association (IFA). The move was necessary as a result of recent developments in the Middle East conflict, and ensuing safety concerns, which forced certain fixtures to be rescheduled.
Israel had been due to play Belgium in a European Championship qualifying match on 8 September but UEFA refused to allow the game to go ahead given the current state of events in the region. Subject to the DFB’s consent, the IFA subsequently reached an agreement with Belgium to use 25 March 2015 as an alternative date in order to continue to have the opportunity to play a home game during the important qualification campaign.
Niersbach: "Clear straight away that we would agree to the request"
DFB President Wolfgang Niersbach said: “Of course it’s very sad for all us that the match will no longer take place due to the distressing situation in the region. However, for the DFB it was clear straight away that we would agree to the request of our Israeli friends. Our collective hope is for the situation there to ease and for the sport to be the focus of attention once again in the coming years.
Given the congested schedules of both teams, the match will not be rearranged for summer 2015, but talks will be held to discuss a new date in the future. A decision will shortly be made as to who the reigning world champions will play ahead of their tie against Georgia on 29 March 2015.
Germany’s match against Israel, which had been scheduled for 25 March 2015, has been called off. The German Football Association (DFB) agreed to cancel the game after receiving a request from the Israel Football Association (IFA). The move was necessary as a result of recent developments in the Middle East conflict, and ensuing safety concerns, which forced certain fixtures to be rescheduled.
Israel had been due to play Belgium in a European Championship qualifying match on 8 September but UEFA refused to allow the game to go ahead given the current state of events in the region. Subject to the DFB’s consent, the IFA subsequently reached an agreement with Belgium to use 25 March 2015 as an alternative date in order to continue to have the opportunity to play a home game during the important qualification campaign.
Niersbach: "Clear straight away that we would agree to the request"
DFB President Wolfgang Niersbach said: “Of course it’s very sad for all us that the match will no longer take place due to the distressing situation in the region. However, for the DFB it was clear straight away that we would agree to the request of our Israeli friends. Our collective hope is for the situation there to ease and for the sport to be the focus of attention once again in the coming years.
Given the congested schedules of both teams, the match will not be rearranged for summer 2015, but talks will be held to discuss a new date in the future. A decision will shortly be made as to who the reigning world champions will play ahead of their tie against Georgia on 29 March 2015.
