Liverpool coach Rafael Benitez said that his team won't fly to Israel to play Maccabi Haifa in the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round. Haifa is the first and nearest target of Lebanese guerilla group Hizbollah, who has been attacking the Israeli city for two weeks, in response to Israel's assault on Lebanon. Benitez insisted that he won't jeopardize his or his players' lives by going to Israel. "There is no way we should be going to Israel to play a game of football at this time, UEFA cannot put anyone at risk," Benitez was quoted as saying by The Sun newspaper on Sunday. Benitez urged UEFA to switch the game to a neutral country, adding that it'd be the only way he and his players can concentrate on the game without fearing any danger. "It's a crazy situation and totally unacceptable to even think about us going over there at this time," the Spaniard said. Benitez experienced the same situation when he was coaching Valencia and they were also drawn against Maccabi Haifa in the UEFA Cup. "When I was coaching Valencia, we were drawn against Maccabi Haifa, the situation there was nowhere near as bad as it is now and still the game was switched to Cyprus," he added. "It's impossible to prepare for a game in such circumstances, I feel very sad for the people there but we have to put everyone's safety before everything." Liverpool will forward a formal protest to UEFA asking to switch the venue for the second tie against Haifa which is originally scheduled to be played on 22nd or 23rd August.
