UEFA has said that decisions on whether national teams should be kept apart in competition draws are made on a case-by-case basis and guided primarily by security considerations, after the Republic of Ireland’s football association said its request to avoid future pairings with Israel had been rejected. Football Association of Ireland chief executive David Courell said on Friday that it had asked UEFA if the Republic of Ireland and Israel could be separated in future draws after being paired in February’s Nations League draw. They are due to meet in that competition on September 27 and October 4.
European football’s governing body said requests to stop teams being drawn against each other are considered individually. The Israel Football Association also responded to Courell’s remarks, questioning whether a formal request had been made to UEFA. Last November, members of the FAI voted overwhelmingly for its board to request that UEFA should suspend the IFA from European competitions, while in May, leading Irish footballers and celebrities joined in a campaign for a boycott of Ireland’s home Nations League fixture.
Ireland’s designated home match on October 4 is due to be played behind closed doors in Backa Topola, Serbia, instead of Dublin, while Irish fans will not receive tickets for Israel’s designated home fixture in Debrecen, Hungary, the previous weekend.
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