Serbia v Wales. POSTPONED.

Last updated : 26 March 2003 By Michael Morris
The game will be re-scheduled for August.

Report from BBC Wales
Wales' European Championship qualifier with Serbia & Montenegro in Belgrade next Wednesday has been postponed.

Uefa has decided that the current political and civil unrest in Belgrade represents too great a security risk for the game to be played.

The game has now been rearranged for Wednesday, 20 August because Uefa do not want to switch the fixture from the Red Star Stadium to another venue at such short notice.

Delegations from the two countries met with officials from Uefa, European football's governing body, in Rome on Wednesday afternoon to reach a decision.

Serbia & Montenegro wanted the match postponed following the assassination of Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic, because tGeneral David Collins said he was happy with the outcome.

"This was the only decision we could come to," he told BBC Sport.

Uefa spokesman Mike Lee added: "The Serbian government has hey want to avoid situations where there are mass gatherings.

Football Association of Wales secretary declared a state of emergency in Belgrade and do not want any sporting event in the city or surrounding area.

"Therefore it was appropriate to postpone the game and the two associations and Uefa have agreed on a new date.

"August 20th is also an international match date, which has been earmarked for friendlies.

"But we will discuss with Fifa turning this into a full international matchday so that the two associations will have full claim on their players being available."

The venue of next August's fixture is not yet known.