The Kop Parisii, the main association of supporters of the Parisian club, assures on social networks that it does not want to “politicize”, “nor create divisions in (their) ranks”.
Published on 03/01/2025 12:46
Reading time: 2min
The conflict between Israel and Hamas, and more broadly in the Middle East, continues to have repercussions in the world of sport. Kop Parisii, which brings together the most fervent supporters of Paris Basket, announced the boycott of the Euroleague matchday 22 match against Maccabi Tel-Aviv on January 16. “We will not animate the Kop stand for this match. There will be no drums, no singing, no tarpaulins”writes the association on X, Thursday January 2.
“In the context that everyone knows, we decided with the office not to make this match a usual match and above all not to act as if nothing had happened,” continues the Kop Parisii. “Let us not want to politicize the Kop or create divisions in our ranks. But there are things that go further than a simple basketball match”adds the association, which has 200 members.
Paris Basket is playing its first season in the Euroleague, the queen of European competitions, and is in an unexpected third place in the regular season standings. The Parisian team must face Maccabi Tel-Aviv on January 16 at the Adidas Arena, north of Paris. Maccabi, nicknamed “nation club” because of the immense passion it arouses in Israel, has some of the most fervent supporters on the European scene. The authorities have not yet announced the police force that will be put in place during this meeting.
In mid-December, the Champions League basketball match between Nanterre and the Israeli team Hapoel Holon was interrupted for a few minutes, after the display of Palestinian flags. In football, the Nations League meeting between the French team and Israel took place under very close surveillance and in front of barely 16,000 spectators at the Stade de France. Incidents broke out in the first period, near the location where several hundred Israeli fans were gathered.
