Boost for Shelbourne as Uefa approve Tolka Park for Conference League play-off
It's understood that upgrades made to the stadium as well as the operational aspects of how the League of Ireland champions have managed their European games so far have been enough to convince Uefa delegates to grant a licence for the Drumcondra venue.
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It had been anticipated that Shels would have to move the home leg of their Europa League third round qualifier with Rijeka last night to Tallaght Stadium in order to meet ground regulations and requirements from the governing body.
However, Tolka also won the seal of approval for that tie and despite losing the game they did enough with how the event was run to keep such a crucial fixture on their own patch.
St Patrick's Athletic, for example, had to move last week's Conference League home tie with Besiktas to the home of Shamrock Rovers and it has traditionally been the case for League of Ireland teams – other than the Hoops – who make it beyond the second round of Europe to move their home fixture.
Shels are now due to play at Tolka next Thursday (21 August) against the winner of Linfield and Vikingur with the away leg on 28 August. The Irish League side trail 2-1 from the first leg and should David Healy's side produce a comeback it will be a repeat of the All-Ireland derby from the first round of this year's Champions League qualifiers earlier this summer.
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