Tel Aviv Local Rivalry Cancelled Due to Serious Unrest
The sports venue in the city was engulfed by smoke prior to the anticipated start
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The domestic football league derby featuring one local team and their city rivals was called off prior to kick-off on Sunday, due to what authorities described as "crowd trouble and serious disturbances".
"Dozens of smoke bombs and flares were thrown," authorities posted on social media, adding "this is not a football game, this is chaos and significant aggression".
A dozen civilians and multiple police personnel were harmed, officials confirmed, while multiple persons were arrested and 16 detained for questioning.
The disturbances happen just a short time after officials in the Britain announced that supporters of the team cannot be permitted to attend the European competition game at Aston Villa in the UK next month because of security issues.
One team criticised the match postponement, claiming Israeli police of "gearing up for a battle, rather than a sporting event", particularly during meetings in the preparation to the much-expected fixture.
"The disturbing situations around the venue and after the reckless and scandalous judgment to cancel the game only show that the law enforcement has seized authority in the football," the club announced publicly.
The other team has not yet commented, only acknowledging the game was called off.
The judgment by the local safety committee to ban the team's supporters from the Aston Villa match on 6 November has provoked widespread criticism.
The UK government has since said it is attempting to reverse the restriction and exploring what further support might be necessary to guarantee the fixture can be hosted safely.
The English club notified their security personnel that they did not have to work at the fixture, explaining they understood that some "might feel uneasy".
On Thursday, local authorities said it supported the restriction and classified the match as "potentially dangerous" due to intelligence and previous incidents.
That encompassed "violent clashes and discrimination incidents" between the Dutch team and their supporters prior to a fixture in the Netherlands in November 2024, when numerous persons were taken into custody.
There have been rallies at multiple games over the situation in Gaza, for instance when Israel played the Scandinavian team and the European team in recent football World Cup qualifiers.
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Issued16 August
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