FIFA rules Palestinians cannot host 2 World Cup qualifiers

Published Nov. 4, 2015 5:22 a.m. ET

foxsports

ZURICH (AP) FIFA says the Palestinian soccer association will not host two World Cup qualifying matches this month for security reasons.

The decision followed meetings Tuesday in the Palestinian territory ''after which the Palestinian government confirmed that it could no longer guarantee the safety and security around the matches in question.''

A home match against Saudi Arabia, originally scheduled for last month and then Thursday in Ramallah, has been postponed a second time.

The Saudi association had refused to play in Ramallah, seeming to want to avoid going through Israeli security checks.

FIFA says the match will now be played Monday and the Palestinian federation will ''provide details on the neutral ground in Asia'' to host it.

A Nov. 12 qualifying match against Malaysia will also be played on neutral ground.