UEFA has deemed Israel and Ukraine unsafe for continental competition, forcing teams such as Maccabi Tel-Aviv and Dinamo Kiev to play European qualifiers at neutral venues. The first leg of the tie will take place at the TSC Arena in Backa Topola, Serbia, with Serbian venues previously serving as home grounds for Israeli clubs. Three primary factors explain Serbia’s role as host: stable diplomatic relations with Israel, relative political neutrality regarding regional conflicts, and adequate sporting infrastructure. Serbia’s non-NATO stance and regional institutional memory mean other former Yugoslav republics also host Israeli teams in multiple sports.
Though Maccabi Tel-Aviv's name comes first on UEFA's fixture list, neither they nor opponents Dinamo Kiev will be playing at home in their two-legged Europa League qualifier over successive Thursdays in August. While the clubs play domestic matches in Israel and Ukraine respectively, European football governors UEFA have deemed the countries unsafe for continental competition. As a result, the first leg on August 21 will be played in the TSC Arena in Backa Topola, Serbia, as were their previous European games this term.
Firstly, Serbia enjoys stable diplomatic relations with Israel and has a tradition of cooperation that makes such an arrangement politically viable. Second, Serbia maintains relative neutrality, exercising political ambiguity in these conflicts (the Middle East and Russia-Ukraine) and Belgrade represents a politically acceptable compromise in this regard. And the third is that Serbia possess the necessary sporting infrastructure.
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