UEFA announced on Monday that the Europa League match between Turkish giants Beşiktaş and Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv will be relocated from Istanbul to Debrecen, Hungary.
“The match will be played behind closed doors, as per the decision of local Hungarian authorities,” UEFA said in a statement.
The move comes after violence erupted last Thursday in Amsterdam as Maccabi Tel Aviv fans reportedly stormed the city, tearing down Palestinian flags on private property and chanting provocative slogans before and after their match against Ajax.
The incidents sparked widespread outrage, with Israeli fans clashing with bystanders, vandalizing property and setting a Palestinian flag on fire.
Social media videos show Maccabi fans not only damaging private property but also assaulting a local taxi driver and confronting law enforcement officers.
Four days before the incident, Beşiktaş announced that their match with Maccabi Tel Aviv, scheduled for Nov. 28, would be played “in a neutral country” for security reasons.
The match between the two clubs was deemed high-risk, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan repeatedly urging Israeli leaders to halt Tel Aviv’s attacks on Lebanon and Palestinians in Gaza.
Anti-Israel demonstrations, encouraged by the Turkish government, have been taking place across the country for more than a year.