Play-off on hold

Scotland v Israel clash indefinitely postponed by Uefa

Scotland’s Euro 2020 playoff clash with Israel has been indefinitely postponed.

The semi-final and final ties, originally due to be played last month, had been pushed back until June due to the devastating impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Europe.

However, with the situation still worsening in many parts of the Continent the decision has been taken to delay the matches indefinitely.

Should Steve Clarke’s side beat Israel then they would face either Serbia or Norway in the final.

The play-offs will determine the final four participants at Euro 2020, which will not now start until June 11 2021.

Northern Ireland are due to face Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Republic are up against Slovakia.

Uefa also announced following a video conference with its national member associations that Women’s Euro qualifiers and other international friendlies scheduled for June had also been postponed, leaving the path clear for 2019-20 domestic league matches to be played if conditions allow by then.

All Uefa competitions, including the Champions League and Europa League, are indefinitely postponed but that comes as no surprise with the finals of both competitions called off with no new dates yet allocated.

It is understood the national associations were presented with a variety of options for the resumption of domestic league action by a fixtures working group during the call, but no decision was made because it remains very difficult to predict how long the disruption will last.

In the event that the resumption of domestic football is severely delayed, it is thought it would take precedence over European competition.