Maccabi Tel Aviv beats Turkish soccer team as match passes without incident in Hungary
With no fans in the stadium and under heavy security, club plays in Europe again after widespread violence against its supporters in Amsterdam
DEBRECEN, Hungary — The Maccabi Tel Aviv soccer team beat Turkey’s Besiktas in the Europa League on Thursday night, with the match passing without incident before empty stands in Hungary after the stadium was closed to fans over security concerns.
The game came after the Israeli club’s fans were targeted in widespread, coordinated violence in the Netherlands earlier this month — attacks that were condemned as antisemitic by authorities in Israel and across Europe.
Maccabi won Thursday’s game 3-1 on a cold and rainy evening in Debrecen, Hungary’s second-largest city. Groups of police patrolled outside the stadium but security levels did not appear overwhelming in the city of around 200,000 residents.
After the match, Maccabi coach Zarko Lazetic said playing in front of an empty stadium without fans is always a struggle for the team.
“We play football because of the fans, to give them some pleasure, some excite[ment] and to be together,” he said.
The contest at Nagyerdei Stadium was played without fans due to fears of further confrontations following the November 7 attacks, when Arab and Muslim gangs assaulted Maccabi fans after a game in Amsterdam, resulting in multiple injuries and an international backlash.
Israeli and Dutch authorities as well as Jewish communal figures described the wave of attacks in Amsterdam following a Maccabi Tel Aviv match against Dutch club Ajax earlier this month as antisemitic and organized, detailing instances of gangs of pro-Palestinian youths roving the city on scooters and motorbikes, attacking anyone suspected of being Jewish or Israeli, and then fleeing. Witnesses said that Dutch security forces were nowhere to be found as the Israeli tourists were ambushed by gangs of masked assailants who shouted pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel slogans while they hunted, beat and harassed them.
Dutch authorities announced over 60 arrests related to incidents before and after the wave of assaults, but none directly tied to them.
Some have attempted to pin the violence on soccer hooliganism, noting that large crowds of Israeli fans had chanted anti-Arab slogans on their way to the match. Violence between rival clubs can sometimes break out as passions get heated even in the absence of geopolitical baggage.
There has been a general uptick in attacks on Jews and Israelis abroad amid anger over the war against Hamas in Gaza, which was sparked by the terror group’s October 7, 2023, massacre in southern Israel. Some 1,200 people were killed in the attack and 251 were kidnapped, with 101 remaining in captivity in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 34 confirmed dead by the IDF.
Turkey, which has openly backed Hamas, has been among Israel’s most vociferous critics over the course of the war, degrading diplomatic and economic ties and leading efforts for increased international pressure or sanctions on Jerusalem.
The match had initially been scheduled for Besiktas’s home turf in Istanbul, but the Turkish team requested it be moved to “neutral ground” over security concerns. The request was made before the Amsterdam attacks.
The club later said on social media that Hungary was the only country willing to host the match and that Hungarian authorities requested it be played behind closed doors.
Hungary has hosted several home games for Israel’s national team for security reasons since the war in Gaza began. While domestic soccer teams have continued to play normally in the country despite the war, European soccer body UEFA has ruled that Israel cannot host international games due to security concerns.
