UEFA has postponed two European club competition matches in Turkey following the bomb attacks in Istanbul yesterday in which at least 26 people died and 450 were injured.

European soccer's governing body said the Champions League Group D match between Galatasaray of Turkey and Italy's Juventus, scheduled for next Tuesday in Istanbul, had been put back a week to December 2nd.

The UEFA Cup second round, second leg match between Israel's Maccabi Haifa and Valencia of Spain, due to be played in Izmir next Thursday, has also been postponed with a new date and venue that has yet to be arranged.

"UEFA has decided to postpone the most imminent matches coming up in competitions in Turkey next week, given the seriousness of the incidents that took place in Istanbul this morning and the current confusion on the ground," director of competition operations, Jacob Erel, said in a statement.

The UEFA Cup tie, with Maccabi as the home team, was originally moved to Turkey because of security concerns in Israel.

Valencia president Jaime Orti gave his full support to UEFA's decision to postpone his side's second round tie.

"It is the best solution for both teams," he stated yesterday. "It is the most logical solution given that security has to be the number one priority.

"Now we will be working on choosing the most suitable alternative date and venue for both Valencia and Maccabi."

Valencia said the game was likely to be rescheduled for December 11th with Cyprus being mooted as a possible venue.

UEFA said they would keep an eye on developments in Turkey in case they needed to make alterations to other fixtures like Chelsea's Champions League visit to Besiktas, scheduled for December 9th in Istanbul.

"Over the next few days, we will be closely monitoring the overall security situation in Turkey . . . and will remain in constant contact with the clubs and national associations concerned regarding any forthcoming matches scheduled in Turkey," Erel added.

Chelsea said yesterday that they had decided not to take up their ticket allocation for the Group G match.

"We had been working closely through UEFA with the Turkish authorities to ensure that it was safe for our fans to travel," Chelsea's interim chief executive Paul Smith said.

"However, today's bombings of British targets, the advice just issued by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and the generally unsettled situation there, has prompted us to make this final decision."