Security Worries

It's one thing for Israel to be forced to play its home matches abroad in the Euro 2008 qualifiers because of security concerns, but this (scroll down), surely, is outrageous:

Tickets for today’s group E clash between Israel and Andorra in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, are available only at a sandwich shop in Amsterdam.

The De Goffert Stadium, which will host the match — moved from Israel because of trouble in the Middle East — declined to sell tickets because of security worries, so the Israeli FA turned to Sal Meijer’s sandwich shop, a kosher landmark in Amsterdam for 50 years.

Meijer said: “They like my food. They asked me from the embassy if I could sell tickets here and I said yes.”

The De Goffert stadium is refusing to sell tickets for an international match being staged there? The Times present the story as some kind of joke, but really, would this happen to any other country except Israel? And why couldn't UEFA find a venue for the match which would actually sell tickets in the normal way? (Yes I know, Israel v. Andorra isn't going to be pulling them in, but still...)

Comments

[Andy]

Well at least this way Israel has a chance of actually hosting a "home" match from within Europe. Is the definition of "European" in "European Championship" meant to be cultural rathan than gepgraphical?

[Will]

Isreal play in 'European' fixtures with special dispensation from Euefa. That's because the neighbours of Israel either a)don't recognise it as a nation b) refuse to play them and c) want to exterminate the Jewish inhabitants of Israel or d) all of the above.