Turkish club Antalyaspor midfielder Sagiv Jehezkel was released from prison this Monday (15), after speaking before a judge that he had only called for an end to the war in the Gaza Strip by displaying a message during a match remembered the 100 days since the attacks by the terrorist group Hamas against Israel.
The player was arrested on charges of inciting hatred after displaying an armband with the message “100 days” and the date October 7, when the Palestinian militia killed around 1,200 people and kidnapped around 250 to the Gaza Strip .
The player's gesture, after scoring the goal that guaranteed his team a 1-1 draw with Trabzonspor on Sunday (14), led the Public Prosecutor's Office to open an investigation and the club to announce the athlete's dismissal, claiming that the message “contradicts the national values” of Turkey, which since the beginning of the conflict has criticized Tel Aviv's offensive against Hamas.
According to experts consulted by EFE Agency, the fact that the player was released without being put on trial means that no charges were brought against him. The local press reported that a private plane arrived in Turkey to take the player back to Israel.
In his statement, Jehezkel said that by displaying the message, which also included a Star of David, the symbol of Israel, he only intended to call for an end to the war. The football player had already been temporarily suspended for refusing to participate in an act of solidarity with the Palestinian people before the match against Gaziantep on October 21. The Turkish Football Federation considered the player's behavior “unacceptable”.
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