Hungary will host the Europa League match between Besiktas Istanbul and Israeli club Maccabi Tel-Aviv on November 28, initially scheduled for Istanbul and moved to Debrecen, UEFA announced on Monday. “The match will be played behind closed doors, by decision of the local Hungarian authorities”specified the European body.
A meeting considered high risk
Besiktas announced last week that the match would be played “in a neutral country” for security reasons, without the destination being known. The meeting between the two clubs was considered high risk, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan having increased verbal attacks against Israeli leaders since the start of the war in Gaza.
Major anti-Israel protests, encouraged by the Turkish government, have taken place across the country for more than a year, and Israel asked its nationals and diplomats in office in October 2023 to leave Turkey as a measure of security.
READ ALSO. “The image of our country is at stake”: why France – Israel is being played at the Stade de France
The Turkish refusal to host the match came even before the violence which surrounded the Europa League match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel-Aviv, last Thursday in Amsterdam: 20 to 30 Maccabi supporters were injured during the night from Thursday to Friday after being attacked by groups of individuals who, according to Dutch police, had responded to a call to target Jews launched on social networks.
France
