Beşiktaş, Maccabi Tel Aviv match moved to Hungary

LAUSANNE

The Europa League match between Beşiktaş and Maccabi Tel Aviv has been moved from Istanbul to Debrecen in Hungary, UEFA has announced.

"The match will be played behind closed doors following a decision of the local Hungarian authorities," the governing body of European football said in a statement.

Last week, when Maccabi Tel Aviv visited Ajax in the Europa League, the Israeli club's supporters were involved in the clashes in Amsterdam.

Beşiktaş had already announced that their match against Maccabi on Nov. 28, would be played "in a neutral country" for security reasons, but said in a statement on Nov. 11 that the events in Amsterdam were behind the decision to play behind closed doors.

"In light of the recent incidents that occurred between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters, the match will take place without spectators," the Istanbul club said.

"We kindly ask our supporters to cancel their travel plans for this match to avoid possible inconveniences."

French authorities also banned spectators from bringing the Palestinian flag to a France-Israel football match this Nov. 14 in a Parisian suburb.

"Only French and Israeli flags and messages supporting the teams will be allowed. Stadiums are no place for political messages – it’s the law," Paris police chief Laurent Nunez told French media.

Some 4,000 gendarmes would be around the stadium, on public transport and in Paris, with French President Emmanul Macron expected to attend the mach.

Greek, meanwhile, heightened security for a Euroleague basketball game between Panathinaikos and Maccabi Tel Aviv.

A police source said around 1,500 police would be assigned to security measures for the game at the Athens Olympic indoor hall.

The Israeli embassy in Athens will also be assigned additional security.