Police insist Albania game ‘isn’t under threat’

ENGLAND’S World Cup qualifier with Albania is poised to go ahead as planned on Sunday after an issue with security in Tirana was resolved by the local authorities.

After beginning their bid to qualify for next year’s finals in Qatar with victory over San Marino last night, there was concern England’s second Group I tie would be postponed.

The Albanian Football Association issued a statement saying it had been informed by local police the force could not guarantee the safety of the teams.

The issue had arisen after the AFA requested a restricted number of fans vaccinated against Covid-19 be permitted to attend the game.

This proposal was rejected by government and the match at the Air Albania Stadium is to be played behind closed doors.

Yet with no other lockdown measures currently in place in Albania, the area around the stadium could be busy, leading to fears about the security of the teams.

In a statement, the AFA statement said: ‘The cancellation of the match would have catastrophic consequences for the image of our country, the national team and in general for Albanian football.’ However, in response last night the county’s state police issued its own statement assuring the AFA the game would go ahead on Sunday as scheduled.

The statement insisted security officials had ‘taken all measures to guarantee order and security’ at the game.

A spokesperson for the Football Association yesterday said: ‘We will continue to liaise with the relevant authorities.’

Gareth Southgate’s England squad are due to travel to Albania for the game on Saturday. Albania played Andorra last night.