Israeli player for Spanish soccer team skips Osasuna trip for security reasons

Granada’s Israeli forward Shon Weissman is not traveling for Friday’s Liga match against Osasuna in the Basque country for security reasons, his club tells AFP.

Weissman, the only Israeli player in La Liga, was left out of the trip to Pamplona on the advice of Spanish authorities amid the Israel-Hamas war.

Weissman posted messages on social media in support of Israel after the Hamas onslaught.

The Israeli international later deleted the posts but has since been the victim of on-line abuse.

The Basque far-left radical group Indar Gorri published on its social networks an image of a “forbidden” sign with the Granada player’s face and the slogan “Weissman out.”

“It’s a delicate subject. I’m against all war,” Granada coach Paco Lopez says during the pre-match press conference, affirming that his player was “affected” by the situation, but was training normally.

On Wednesday, Spanish authorities deployed 700 police officers to supervise the Euroleague basketball match between Valencia and Maccabi Tel Aviv, without took place without incident.