It was intended to be a strong sign of remembrance – and ended with a temporary arrest for the Israeli professional soccer player Sagiv Jehezkel. The player from the first division club Antalyaspor held his bandaged arm up to the cameras in the Turkish Süper Lig game against Trabzonspor after his goal to make the final score 1-1.
This was followed by his arrest, suspension from the club and investigations into sedition, which sparked widespread outrage in Israel. Jehezkel is now at large and returned to Israel late on Monday afternoon, the Israel Football Association confirmed. The investigations against him will continue, the state-run Turkish news agency Anadolu reported on Monday. According to Anadolu, his contract with Antalyaspor should be terminated.
Turkish media such as the state broadcaster TRT called the action “support for Israel’s aggression against Palestinians.” Numerous users on social media called for Jehezkel’s deportation. “Turkey has become a dark dictatorship that works against humanitarian values and the values of sport,” Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said in a statement on Monday about the incidents.
Gallant: “expression of hypocrisy”
Israel’s Defense Minister Joav Galant accused Turkey of acting as an “arm of Hamas” on the X platform (formerly Twitter). Israel was the first country to provide aid to the country after the devastating earthquakes in February last year that left tens of thousands dead, thereby saving the lives of many people in Turkey. “The scandalous arrest of football player Sagiv Jehezkel is an expression of hypocrisy and ingratitude,” Galant continued.
On October 7, 2023, terrorists from Hamas and other extremist groups carried out a massacre in southern Israel. They killed 1,200 people and kidnapped around 250 others to the Gaza Strip. Israel responded with massive air strikes and a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip. According to the Hamas-controlled health authority, more than 24,000 people have now been killed.
Jehezkel is an Israeli international and only moved from Hapoel Beer Sheva to Antalyaspor in the Turkish Süper Lig in September. In 13 games this season he has eight goals. The equalizer on Sunday was his sixth goal of the season. He was received by airport employees upon his return to Israel. A video released by the association showed them placing an Israeli flag around his shoulders.
Disciplinary proceedings against Karzev
Also on the same day, Turkish club Basaksehir initiated disciplinary proceedings against Israeli player Eden Karzev. The association said on the X platform that he had violated the values of “our country” with a post on social media. An alleged screenshot of his Instagram account, shared by Turkish media, showed an image with the number 100 and a demand to bring Hamas’s Israeli hostages “home.”
Jehezkel had already protested in October together with Israeli national soccer player Ramzi Safuri against a minute’s silence and remembrance in the Süper Lig for Palestinians alone and did not show up.
