Turkish basketball team Fenerbahce to play home games against Israeli teams in Munich
Decision comes as EuroLeague set to hold games in Israel beginning December 1, the first sports matches to return since the war began
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Fenerbahce’s upcoming EuroLeague home games against Israeli basketball teams Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel Tel Aviv have been moved to Munich next month due to security concerns, the Turkish club said on Wednesday.
The matches, originally set for November 11 and 13 in Istanbul, will now take place at Munich’s SAP Garden arena on the same dates following security measures introduced by Turkish authorities.
The venue “has been approved by local authorities to host these matches, is available on the relevant dates, and meets EuroLeague match criteria,” Fenerbahce, the defending EuroLeague champions, said in a statement.
The Istanbul-based club added that the games would be open to their supporters. Fenerbahce also relocated two home games against Maccabi to Lithuania last season.
Since the beginning of the Gaza war with the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack, Israeli clubs in the EuroLeague and EuroCup have played their home games abroad.
But last week, following the October 10 ceasefire agreement, EuroLeague clubs met and “approved the proposal to return matches to Israel starting December 1, 2025,” the body said. The competitions are set to become the first to return to Israel since the war began.
Relations between Turkey and Israel have collapsed during the war. Fenerbahce Beko and Anadolu Efes are two top Turkish clubs who protested the EuroLeague decision to once again let Israeli teams host European competition home games in Israel.
Maccabi Tel Aviv, six-time winners of the competition, and Hapoel Tel Aviv are playing in the EuroLeague this season, while Hapoel Jerusalem is in the second-tier EuroCup.
Sporting events across Europe have also been affected by the fallout from the conflict, with Israeli teams and fans facing exclusion and protest.
Maccabi Tel Aviv soccer fans were barred from attending next week’s Europa League match at Aston Villa, and were ambushed by violent antisemitic mobs following a game in Amsterdam last year.
There have also been protests during Israel’s soccer World Cup qualifiers in Norway and Italy this month, while cycling team Israel-Premier Tech will undergo a full rebrand, moving away from its Israeli identity, after repeated disruptions targeting it during Spain’s Vuelta cycling race.
This month, Indonesia decided to deny visas to Israeli gymnasts to prevent them from participating in a world championship event in Jakarta.
The Times of Israel Community.