ISTANBUL: A Turkish court on Monday released an Israeli footballer who was detained overnight and accused of incitement to hate by displaying a message about the Israel-Hamas war during a first division match.
Sagiv Jehezkel, 28, held up a bandage on his wrist reading “100 days. 07/10” next to a Star of David when he celebrated scoring a goal for Antalyaspor against Trabzonspor on Sunday.
Turkish prosecutors launched a criminal investigation for alleged “incitement to hate and hostility” and his club tore up the forward’s contract for “exhibiting behaviour that goes against our country’s sensitivities”.
Israel furiously condemned Jehezkel’s detention, sending already strained relations between the two regional powers to a new low.
“Turkey has become a dark dictatorship, working against humane values and sports values,“ said Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz, whose country had earlier advised Israeli citizens to leave Turkey as a security precaution.
“I call on the international community and the international sports organisations to act against Turkey and against its political use of violence and threats against athletes.”
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant accused Turkey of “acting like the executive branch of Hamas”.
An Israeli foreign ministry spokesman said Jehezkel would return to Israel later on Monday.
It was not immediately clear if a trial would be held against the player in absentia, or if he intended to return to Turkey.
- ‘I am not pro-war’ -
The message on Jehezkel’s bandage referred to the 100 days since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, which was marked on Sunday.
In testimony to the police, Jehezkel said he wanted to call attention to the hostages taken by Hamas and in no way intended to support the war.
“I am not a pro-war person,“ the private DHA news agency reported him as saying.
“After all, there are also Israeli soldiers taken prisoner in Gaza. I am someone who believes that this 100-day period should end now. I want the war to end. That’s why I showed the sign,“ he reportedly told the police.
On October 7, Hamas militants launched an attack in Israel, killing about 1,140 people and abducting around 250 others, 132 of whom remain in Gaza, according to Israeli officials.
In retaliation, Israel vowed to destroy Hamas and launched a relentless military assault on Gaza that has killed over 24,000 people in the Palestinian territory, most of them women and children, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
- Second Israeli probed -
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has become one of the Muslim world’s harshest critics of Israel over the scale of death and destruction in Gaza.
Jehezkel displayed the Star of David -- the official symbol on the Israeli flag.
He said he never intended to get involved in politics and was careful to respect Turkish cultural sensitivities since signing with the Mediterranean coast club in September.
“Since the day I arrived, I have never disrespected anyone. The point I wanted to draw attention to was the end of the war,“ he said.
Antalyaspor said it had sacked Jehezkel, whom it signed in September, tearing up a contract that had been due to run until 2026.
“Our board will never allow behaviour against the sensitivities of our country no matter if it costs championship or trophy,“ the club said on X, formerly Twitter.
The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) also condemned what it said was “completely unacceptable behaviour” by Jehezkel, calling Antalyaspor’s decision to part way with its player “appropriate”.
In a separate incident, Istanbul’s top-flight side Basaksehir said it was launching a disciplinary investigation into another Israeli player, Eden Karzev, for reposting a social media message about the hostages reading: “Bring Them Home Now”. -AFP
