Topic: Opponents likely to be banned

[Paul Tomkins]

Looks like Haifa could be banned, and if so we play the minnows from Finland instead.

This from the official site site:

Maccabi Haifa face a disciplinary hearing on Friday afternoon, the result of which could cost them their place against Liverpool in the qualifying stages of the Champions League.

Haifa allegedly fielded an ineligible player during last night's second round victory over Finnish side FC Haka, and they face the real possibility of being kicked out of the competition.

If that is the case, Liverpool will be travelling to Finland next week and not Tel Aviv.

The player in question is Walid Badir, formerly of Wimbledon, who UEFA claim received a two match ban following his sending off in a UEFA Cup tie against Vitesse Arnhem last season.

Haifa believed he only picked up a one match ban and so he was omitted from the team which took on FC Haka in the first leg in Finland last week. However, he played for an hour in the second leg and that move could cost his side the chance to take on Liverpool.

Ironically, he picked up a bad injury last night and could be sidelined for months.

Liverpool spokesman Ian Cotton said: "We have been contacted by UEFA who have informed us that Maccabi Haifa are the subject of a disciplinary hearing tomorrow afternoon, the outcome of which may have a bearing on the result of the Champions League qualifier against FC Haka."

We will bring you news of the hearing as soon as we have it on Friday afternoon.

[Bob Kurac]

Yep, it's a possibility. There are 3 scenarios :

- the 2nd leg awarded 3-0 to Haka, giving them a 3-1 aggregate win. There is precedent for this.

- Haifa produce (as they claim they can) the copy of the letter from UEFA with detail of the ban and use it to fully explain their mistake. UEFA could then call for a replay, or even let the result stand if they believe the letter is clear. There is precedent for calling for replays too, and delaying our tie by a week. We should have the right to make representations over this, though, as it will be costing the club and fans, and fucking up our schedule.

- Haifa produce the letter and point to an ambiguity. UEFA could accept partial responsibility for the error, fine Haifa, but let the result stand.

It depends on the result of the hearing tomorrow.

[Gojedo]

That's a pity for the Israelis. Must be galling to think a little? indescretion like that would effectively kill thier chances especially doing the hard yards away from home in the first leg. Mind you I don't think they would have progressed any further but I'm sure they would have fancied thier OWN chances as any team would playing against whoever, including Liverpool.

Winning away from home in todays competitive enviorment, especially with the financial incentive of qualifying for the Champs League is hard enough but to blow it by fielding a player who apparently was still under a ban must be frustrating. I bet they are scrambling for that letter and hoping for the best because it would be pretty disappointing to go out like that. They probably deserve the shot at Liverpool.

[Steve_M]

According to the latest news from UEFA's website, Haifa have been thrown out of the competition after a meeting this afternoon. A 3-0 victory for the second leg was awarded to the Finns.

The Israelis have until Monday to appeal.

What are the odds our first leg will be moved back a week?

[DI_Don_Beech]

.

The Israelis have until Monday to appeal.

What are the odds our first leg will be moved back a week?

Odds of 1000/1 I'd say. If it's moved back it would have to go back 2 weeks because that week is an international week.

[Gojedo]

Does anyone have any thoughts on how this will effect the Reds preperation for the first leg, if at all?? Will the first tie still be an away game then??

[DI_Don_Beech]

Does anyone have any thoughts on how this will effect the Reds preperation for the first leg, if at all?? Will the first tie still be an away game then??

I'm pretty certain the first leg is still away. I don't think it will affect the players at all. They'll be more confident knowing that Haka lost 4-0 to Haifa.

[Paul Tomkins]

It raises some interesting concerns.

Who do we prepare for? How can we plan for the match when we don't know who it is? Today's it's the Finns, but if the Isralis get reinstated?

And if they have three days to appeal, that means that an appeal won't be heard until Tuesday at the earliest. Our whole plans are up in smoke- it could effect the whole start to our season. The backlog is bad enough before a ball has even been kicked in anger, but if this game gets moved, Christ nows when it will be played!

Why is it too much to expect Haifa to have had all their documentation ready today, therefore making the decision finite and 'unappealable'? It's back to the Woosnam/Caddy thing - they blame the Israli FA, but surely they should check their own bans with Uefa? They should know how long bans are for, surely?

All this after the venue has already been switched once - to Tel Aviv. Crikey - what a mess.

[Steve_M]

Odds of 1000/1, worth a £1 of anyone's money.

Seriously, I forgot about the friendly internationals the following week. Wondered if maybe it would be possible to play the second leg on the 22 August as the first leg with the second game a week later. But there's more internationals around that time as well.

Looks like we are stuck in a daft situation not of our making.

It just sums up the whole thinking of modern football.

Money, money, money.

They are trying to cram that many games into a season, they're virtually playing 12 months a year now. I think some of the teams in the Inter-Toto had about a 4 week break at the most before they had to go back to training to prepare for the first game.

I wonder why we are playing in the Super Cup at all.

It seems to be just an exercise in UEFA slapping itself on the back and putting some more dosh in its coffers.

I mean, who exactly benefits from this game in real terms?

The two teams could do without this additional fixture now that the season has started. The fans are not benefiting as it's an away game for both. The fixture itself is meaningless. If it is supposed to be some sort of play-off between the 2 European trophy winning teams, why not home and away legs, so that more revenue could be generated from tickets and TV, etc and each set of fans could have a chance of seeing a game at their own ground. Of course this would be additional fixtures, but why not incorporate it into the pre-season build-up? I mean it's not exactly anymore orless important than the Amsterdam tournament last week. I guess the clubs look apon it as good publicity and more TV exposure and that helps the fan base to grow which leads to more merchandising, etc.

[Anthony]

Steve M - You could say the same thing about the Charity Shield (although I don't know if any Charities benefit from the Super Cup...)

It's now that it starts to hit home about the wisdom of the Far East Tour - could we have done without travelling halfway around the world given that we need to be at peak fitness so quickly?

And one final thought - why was it only at the end of last week that it was decided to cancel this week's friendly against Boston United? Didn't anybody realise it was going to clash with the CL Qualifier?