The “rising tensions” for a match against Hapoël Holon pushes the Nanterre town hall to ban the public

Nantes supporters will not be able to thrill by attending a new European evening for the Paul Lacombe gang on Wednesday (8 p.m.). The next Basketball Champions League match between Nanterre 92 and Hapoël Holon will indeed be played behind closed doors, as announced Monday evening by the Nanterre town hall. It decided, via a decree, to ban all spectators for this meeting scheduled at the Palais des Sports Maurice-Thorez.

A decision linked to the identity of the opponent of the local team, namely an Israeli team, which refers to the burning news of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, and the repercussions which may result from it in France, as the world of sport has been able to notice this for many months.

“Threatening and intimidating messages” to players

To justify this very rare closed-door choice in basketball, the city of Nanterre points to “the particularly tense national and international geopolitical context resulting from the situation in the Middle East”. The town hall notes “the growing rise in tensions” around this meeting, including “messages of threats and intimidation” sent to the players.

Likewise, the question of ticketing management appears in this decree: “The massive purchase of seats outside the usual sales channel does not allow Nanterre 92 to identify at-risk profiles and ensure the safety of spectators. in the stands.”

Our file on the Hamas-Israel conflict

Also taking into account the organization of a demonstration on Saturday against the holding of this Nanterre-Hapoël Holon match, as well as other gatherings scheduled for this Tuesday and Wednesday with the same goal, the city of Hauts-de-Seine therefore fears clashes between spectators or even provocative behavior. For all these reasons, the Palais des Sports Maurice-Thorez will therefore ring decidedly hollow on Wednesday evening.