Athletic Bilbao are again negotiating with UEFA not to travel to Israel for their Europa League commitment after a bus explodes in Tel Aviv.
The Basques were reported earlier as being unsuccessful in attempts to convince the European game’s governing body to hold the fixture outside of Israel, in light of the country’s ongoing conflict with Palestine.
However, ahead of anticipating travelling out this evening, Athletic are holding last-minute talks with UEFA to postpone the game after a bus in Tel Aviv exploded, with reports saying at least 10 people were injured. Athletic’s fixture away to Hapoel Kyriat is being hosted in the same city.
Club President Josu Urrutia, sporting director Jose Maria Amorrortu and CEO Jon Berasategui are in constant communication with the Spanish embassy in Israel to determine if it is safe enough for the party to travel out as scheduled.
The club’s scheduled 12.15 local time flight out to Tel Aviv has been delayed by 45 minutes.
Should the squad travel out, Marcelo Bielsa has opted to leave several big names at home, including Iker Muniain, Carlos Gurpegui and Fernando Llorente.
