UEFA draw restrictions and the Ireland–Israel separation request

The prohibited clash explained

When UEFA draws national teams into groups, the draw is not fully random. Some pairs of countries are listed as "prohibited clashes", and the draw procedure stops them from landing in the same group. This applies to European qualifying for the FIFA World Cup, the UEFA European Championship and the Nations League. In practice it is a constraint on the draw itself: if a ball would put two separated nations together, that team goes to the next group that can legally take it.

The request now being discussed would add Ireland and Israel to that list. The Guardian reports that Heimir Hallgrímsson, the Ireland manager, called on UEFA to keep the two teams apart in future draws. He said the pair of fixtures between them had been tough on everyone involved. According to the same report, the latest meeting was a Nations League match played without spectators at the TSC Arena in Backa Topola, Serbia, and the atmosphere was tense. No decision on the request is known.

Origins of the separation list

Draw restrictions began as a practical answer to a problem football could not solve alone: some fixtures put players, officials and supporters at risk, or cannot be staged normally, because of disputes between states. The best-known pairs on UEFA's list reflect wars, unresolved territorial disputes, or one state's refusal to recognise another. Russia and Ukraine were separated after the conflict between them began, before Russian teams were suspended from European competition altogether. Armenia and Azerbaijan have been kept apart for a long time. Spain and Gibraltar were separated after Gibraltar joined UEFA, because of the sovereignty dispute over the territory. When Kosovo was admitted, it was kept apart from Serbia and from Bosnia and Herzegovina, since neither recognises its independence.

The common thread is that the separation is not about sporting rivalry, crowd temperament or how heated a past match was. It responds to a situation outside football that makes a normal home-and-away fixture unsafe or impossible to organise.

How the mechanism operates today

Before each major draw, UEFA publishes the draw procedure, which includes the current list of prohibited clashes. The pairs on that list are decided by UEFA's governing bodies, not by the federations involved, though a federation can ask for a review. The list is kept under review and has changed over time.

During the draw, the restriction is enforced by computer-assisted allocation. When a team is drawn, the system checks which groups it can still go into without breaking any rule. Prohibited clashes are only one of several constraints. Others include:

• Winter venue restrictions, which limit how many home matches countries with harsh winters can be given in the coldest months.
• Excessive travel restrictions, which stop certain combinations involving very distant member associations.
• Host and pot balancing rules, which spread teams fairly across groups and help the schedule work.

These rules interact, which is why draw ceremonies sometimes pause, or skip a group that looks open, while the software confirms a legal placement. Adding a new prohibited pair means one more constraint every future draw has to satisfy.

Separation in the group stage does not guarantee two teams never meet. Knockout ties and play-off paths can still pair them. In those cases UEFA's tools are logistical rather than structural: neutral venues, matches behind closed doors, or extra security arrangements. The Backa Topola fixture, played without fans in a third country according to the Guardian, shows how a meeting can go ahead under such conditions when the draw has not prevented it.

Common misunderstandings

That a manager's request triggers separation. A public call from a coach or federation is a request, nothing more. UEFA decides on its own assessment, and whether this particular request will be granted is not known.

That separation punishes either side. A prohibited clash places no sanction on either federation. It is an organisational measure. It says nothing about blame for any incident and is separate from disciplinary processes, which run under their own rules.

That bad-tempered matches are enough. Hostile or ill-tempered games happen across European football every season, and that alone does not put a pairing on the list. The established pairs reflect conflicts between states or recognition disputes, not sporting friction.

That it applies everywhere and for ever. The list applies to the draws UEFA runs under its published procedures. Restrictions have been added and removed over time, and as noted above, knockout rounds can still bring separated teams together.

That FIFA and UEFA are the same decision-maker. European World Cup qualifying is organised within the UEFA region, but the competition belongs to FIFA. How the restrictions are applied therefore depends on the rules of the competition in question, which readers should check rather than assume.

Where to look next

The most reliable account of the mechanism is the draw procedure document UEFA publishes before each qualifying or Nations League draw. It sets out the prohibited clashes and the other constraints in force at that moment. Statements from the UEFA Executive Committee are where changes to the list are announced. For World Cup qualifying, FIFA's regulations for the relevant edition explain how the European section is organised. The Football Association of Ireland's official communications are the place to follow whether it formally pursues the manager's request. Match-report coverage, such as the Guardian's, gives context on the fixtures that prompted the debate.

Frequently asked questions

Can UEFA stop two national teams from being drawn together?

Yes. UEFA keeps a list of prohibited clashes, which are pairs of national teams that its draw procedures will not place in the same group. The draw software checks every placement against this list, along with other constraints such as winter venue and travel limits. The restriction covers group-stage draws for European competitions run under UEFA's procedures, including the European section of World Cup qualifying, although knockout rounds can still bring two separated teams together.

Why did the Ireland manager ask for Ireland and Israel to be kept apart?

The Guardian reports that Heimir Hallgrímsson called on UEFA to keep the Republic of Ireland and Israel apart in future draws. This followed two meetings between the sides that he described as tough on everyone involved. The most recent was a Nations League match played without spectators in Serbia, in a tense atmosphere. Whether UEFA will act on the request has not been reported.

Which countries are currently kept apart in UEFA draws?

UEFA publishes the current list in each draw procedure. Pairs that have been separated include Spain and Gibraltar, Armenia and Azerbaijan, Kosovo and Serbia, and Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Russia and Ukraine were also separated before Russian teams were suspended. The list changes over time, so the procedure document for a specific draw is the authoritative source for which restrictions are in force.

Does a prohibited clash mean the two teams can never play each other?

No. The restriction only stops the two teams being drawn into the same group. Play-offs, knockout rounds and final tournaments can still produce a meeting, depending on the rules of each competition. When that happens, organisers usually rely on practical measures such as neutral venues, matches without spectators or extra security, rather than trying to change the structure of the competition.

Who decides whether a new pair is added to the list?

UEFA's governing bodies decide which pairs are kept apart, usually after a request or a change in circumstances. A federation or its manager can ask for separation, but that does not guarantee an outcome. Past additions have mostly reflected conflicts between states, disputes over territory or one state not recognising another, rather than how heated previous matches between the teams have been.

Sources and further reading

• The Guardian: match report on the Republic of Ireland v Israel Nations League fixture and the manager's comments afterwards
• UEFA: published draw procedures setting out prohibited clashes and other draw constraints
• FIFA: competition regulations for European qualifying for the World Cup
• Football Association of Ireland: official statements on fixtures and representations to UEFA