The Besiktas-Maccabi Tel Aviv match scheduled for Istanbul will ultimately be played in Hungary behind closed doors. A decision which follows the strong diplomatic tensions between Turkey and Israel. What happened to get there?
New twist in tense relations between Turkey and Israel. According to a source close to the matter, UEFA has just announced that the Europa League match between Besiktas Istanbul and Maccabi Tel Aviv, initially scheduled for the Turkish metropolis on November 28, will finally be relocated to Debrecen in Hungary. A decision taken for security reasons while the climate has been particularly tense between the two countries for several months.
A high-risk match
It must be said that this meeting was considered highly sensitive. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has indeed increased verbal attacks against Israeli leaders since the start of the war in Gaza. An explosive geopolitical context which has only increased fears surrounding the holding of this match.
The Turkish authorities had also taken the lead by announcing last week that the meeting would take place “in a neutral country”, without however specifying the destination. This is now done with the formalization by UEFA of its relocation to Hungary.
A strategic choice
Why Hungary? According to our information, this choice would result from an agreement between the European football body and the Hungarian authorities. A compromise which would ensure that the match took place in optimal security conditions, far from the tensions currently agitating Turkey and Israel.
But this relocation did not happen without problems. Initially, an agreement was reached for the meeting to take place with the public. But the Hungarian authorities ultimately decided that it would be played behind closed doors, due to the violence that occurred on the sidelines of the Ajax-Maccabi Tel Aviv match last week in Amsterdam.
Supporters targeted
Indeed, during the night from Thursday to Friday, between 20 and 30 supporters of the Israeli club were injured after being attacked by groups of individuals. According to Dutch police, these attacks followed a call to target Jewish fans launched on social networks. Incidents which have visibly pushed Hungary to review its position regarding the presence of the public during the Besiktas-Maccabi match.
Diplomatic tensions
But beyond these security considerations, this affair also reflects the strong diplomatic tensions between Turkey and Israel. For more than a year, frequent anti-Israeli demonstrations, often authorized or even supported by the Turkish government, have taken place across the country. A deleterious climate which pushed Israel to ask its nationals and diplomats in office to leave Turkish territory last October.
Faced with this situation, Besiktas called on its supporters not to travel to Hungary for the match, in order to “avoid any inconvenience”. A message of caution which says a lot about the tension currently reigning around this match.
What future for Turkish-Israeli relations?
Beyond the sporting field, this affair is symptomatic of the deterioration of relations between Turkey and Israel in recent years. Former strategic allies, the two countries have been going through a major diplomatic crisis since 2018 and the installation of the American embassy in Jerusalem.
Despite some timid signs of relaxation, the gap seems to widen a little more with each new crisis. The war in Gaza and Erdogan’s violent criticism of Israel have shattered the rapprochement efforts undertaken in recent months.
In this context, the relocation of the Besiktas-Maccabi match appears as a new symptom of this crisis which seems set to last. A bitter observation for supporters of dialogue, who despite everything hope that sport can serve as a bridge between the two countries. But in view of recent events, the road to reconciliation still looks long and strewn with pitfalls.
