Palestine must play two upcoming 2018 World Cup qualifiers against Saudi Arabia and Malaysia on neutral ground instead of at home because of security concerns, the ruling body FIFA said Wednesday.
FIFA said the decision by its emergency bureau was made after meetings in the Palestinian Territories Tuesday "after which the Palestinian government confirmed that it could no longer guarantee the safety and security around the matches in question."
FIFA said that therefore "both matches need to be played on neutral ground." It has asked the Palestine federation "to provide details on the neutral ground in Asia" which is to host both games.
The game against Saudi Arabia, originally set for last month and first postponed until Thursday (November 5) is now set for Monday (November 9). The game against Malaysia is to take place as planned on November 12.
