Larne's Europa League qualifier faces possible 24-hour delay
Larne's home Europa League qualifier against FC Iberia 1999 could be postponed by a day because the Georgian side were unable to land in Northern Ireland on Monday due to paperwork issues.
The first leg of Larne's Europa League qualifier, scheduled for Tuesday at Inver Park, may be pushed back by 24 hours. Georgian club FC Iberia 1999 could not land in Northern Ireland on Monday because of document problems with their chartered flight. The visiting players and staff are now not expected to arrive in Larne until Tuesday afternoon, with kick-off still set for 20:00 BST.
Under UEFA regulations, teams must not arrive in a country for a match less than 24 hours before kick-off. As a result, the game could be delayed. The Georgian side may request a postponement given the circumstances. Larne, FC Iberia 1999 and UEFA have all been contacted for a response.
The second leg is scheduled to take place in Tblisi on 11 August at 17:00 BST. The winners of the tie will face Scottish Premiership side Rangers or Poland's Jagellonia Bialystock in the next round. The losers will drop into the final qualifying round of the UEFA Conference League.
In 2024, Larne became the first Irish Premiership side to qualify for the league phase of a European competition when they reached the UEFA Conference League.
