Football: Israeli player expelled from club in Turkey, accused of ‘incitement to hatred’
Israeli footballer Sagiv Jehezkel is being investigated for ‘public incitement to hatred’ He posted a message on Sunday referring to the conflict between Israel and Hamas. The Antalyaspor player scored a goal in Sunday’s Turkish Süper Lig match. He brandished the message “100 days. 07/10” inscribed on a bandage on one of his wrists. It is interpreted by the Turkish Minister of Justice as a sign of support for Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip.
A judicial investigation against Israeli footballer Sagiv Jehezkel after a celebratory message referring to Israel.
An Israeli footballer who posted a message on Sunday referring to the conflict between Israel and Hamas during a Turkish top-flight league match has been expelled from his team and is being investigated for “public incitement to hatred.”
“The Antalya Public Prosecutor’s Office has opened a judicial investigation against Israeli footballer Sagiv Jehezkel for ‘public incitement to hatred’ due to his heinous celebration in support of Israel’s massacre in Gaza,” Turkish Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunç announced on the social network X.
The Antalyaspor player, who also has 8 caps for the Israeli national team, scored a goal in Sunday’s Turkish Süper Lig match and brandished the message “100 days.
07/10” inscribed on a bandage on one of his wrists. This short message, a reference to the 7 days that have elapsed since the bloody attack launched on October <> by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas on Israeli soil, is interpreted by the Turkish Minister of Justice as a sign of support for Israeli military operations launched in retaliation in the Gaza Strip.
The Turkish club accuses him of having “acted against the values of our country”
We will continue to support the oppressed Palestinians,” the Turkish minister wrote, denouncing an ongoing “genocide” in Gaza. The Antalyaspor club announced that it had expelled its Israeli player, whom it accused of having “acted against the values of our country“.
Since the beginning of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a traditional ally of the Palestinian cause, has repeatedly described Israel as a “terrorist state”, saying that Hamas, considered a terrorist group by the European Union and many countries including the United States, was a “group of liberators“.
According to Hamas’ Health Ministry, Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip have killed at least 23,968 people, mostly civilians. The unprecedented attack launched on October 7 by Hamas on Israeli soil killed about 1,140 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli data.
