Security Concerns Prompt Controversial Decision
Leuven’s mayor, Mohamed Ridouani, called off a scheduled football match between HaPo’el Beersheba and Union Saint-Gilloise, citing ongoing security worries that have led him to ban games involving local teams such as Red Flames and Rode Duivels.
Ridouani explained that the decision was rooted in a longstanding policy to protect public safety, arguing that the presence of a foreign club could provoke unrest and endanger spectators.
The Israeli embassy in Belgium swiftly rebuked the move, describing HaPo’el Beersheba as a symbol of coexistence in Israeli football, featuring three Arab‑Israeli players, and urging that sport remain free from political interference.
The Forum of Jewish Organizations protested the cancellation, saying it sent a harmful message and raised doubts about whether security concerns were being used to justify exclusionary practices.
Jewish groups pointed out that Israeli athletes have faced a surge of discrimination and violent incidents across Europe since the Hamas attacks of October 2023, a trend that has heightened anxiety around any public gathering involving Israeli teams.
A separate controversy erupted in the United Kingdom, where inaccurate claims about Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters during a November 2025 match led to the resignation of former chief constable Craig Guildford, after an Independent Office for Police Conduct investigation uncovered misinformation about Israeli fans in Amsterdam.
The episode underscores a broader pattern in which security rationales are sometimes invoked in ways that reinforce antisemitic undertones, prompting calls for more nuanced, evidence‑based approaches to stadium safety.