Neither Maccabi Tel Aviv nor their opponent, Dinamo Kyiv, will host the first leg of their Europa League qualifying tie in their home countries. UEFA has deemed both Israel and Ukraine unsafe for continental competition. As a result, the match scheduled for August 21 will be held at Serbia’s TSC Arena in Bačka Topola, a venue that has already served as a neutral ground for Maccabi’s recent European fixtures.
According to Marko Begović, sports management professor and author of Sports Policy and Politics in the Western Balkans, Serbia is uniquely positioned to accommodate these matches for three main reasons: it maintains stable diplomatic relations with Israel; it remains politically neutral amid regional conflicts involving the Middle East and Ukraine; and it possesses appropriate sporting infrastructure.
This situation highlights the increasing expectation for sports organizations to make political decisions—even when they’d rather avoid such entanglements. UEFA’s move underscores how geopolitical tensions can directly impact where international competitions are held.