Football
ESPN staff 10y

Danish FA want Dnipro UCL tie moved

The Danish Football Association (DBU) has "100 percent" backed FC Copenhagen's efforts to move their Champions League game against Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk to a neutral venue following the Malaysian Airlines crash over Ukrainian soil.

- Shakhtar stars 'won't risk lives' to return

The Boeing 777 -- en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur -- crashed last Thursday over ground controlled by pro-Russian separatists, killing all 298 people on board, including two Newcastle United fans on their way to watch the club's preseason tour.

The Danish club want the first leg of their third-round qualifier in Dnipropetrovsk on July 29 rescheduled away from the region, while the DBU have voiced their support for Stale Solbakken's side.

"We support FC Copenhagen 100 percent in this case and there is no doubt that the DBU is very concerned that UEFA would send a Danish club team to a country, and a region, where very few airlines will even fly to," said DBU president Jesper Moeller.

Moeller confirmed the game is currently still scheduled "despite several requests from both the DBU and FC Copenhagen and the fact that the Danish Foreign Ministry calls the area unstable and advises against all travel to the Crimean peninsula and eastern Ukraine.

"It is important from the DBU's side that we are doing everything we can, both political and administrative, to back FC Copenhagen in their desire to move the game to neutral ground."

Ukrainian champions Shakhtar Donetsk are unable to play at the Donbass Arena due to instability in Donetsk, while UEFA have yet to confirm if Copenhagen's match against Dnipro will go ahead or not.

Copenhagen head of press and communications Christian Wolny told CNN: "We are waiting. There are some issues right now that we need to get sorted. There is no way our travel agent can find any company that will fly us to Ukraine.

"It's currently a serious risk to fly over Ukraine, so many, many companies have removed their route to the country. We cannot get there by flight.

"Furthermore, the Danish foreign ministry has labelled the region as being unstable, which means they do not tell us not to go there, but it is not stable. They cannot guarantee what the situation will be in nine days [for the match].

"The last point is our insurance company, they do not cover us in the eastern part of Ukraine, where Dnipropetrovsk is. We need to get these three issues solved, and we have made UEFA aware of the situation."

Wolny insisted there is no political reason why Copenhagen would refuse to play Dnipro elsewhere, but that the logistics of the trip and safety of the Danish club would be paramount.

"For us we have no problem with FC Dnipro as a club, or the city that they play in," he added. "We just need to make sure that it is safe to travel, that it is safe to be there and also that we can actually get there -- which right now is our biggest issue.

"We are not experts, we have to rely on what UEFA tells us."

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