“Security comes first, always,” says Belgian Football Federation after announcing Israel-Belgium game will be played in Hungary.
By World Israel News Staff
Multiple cities in Belgium have refused to host a game between their national team and Israel’s, stemming from fears of Islamic terror attacks and mass protests that would target the match.
In a statement, the Belgian Football Federation (RBFA) announced that the game, which is scheduled for the first week in September, will be played in a stadium in Hungary.
“Given that in Belgium, no local authority considered it possible to organize the home match of the Red Devils against Israel, the RBFA had to look for a solution abroad,” the RBFA said in a statement.
Notably, the Belgium-Israel game will not be open to the public, meaning that there will be no spectators in the stands.
“We understand – and share – the concerns around the situation in Israel and Palestine, and the security implications, so we knew that the home match against Israel would in all likelihood be played without an audience, and had accepted that. Security comes first, always,” the RBFA said.
The release noted that the city of Brussels, along with multiple other municipalities, had refused to host the game, stating that it would be “impossible to organize this very high-risk match.”
In May, Palestinian Football Association President Jibril Rajoub demanded that international soccer governing body FIFA ban Israel from its games.
FIFA was due to announce its decision on the matter on July 20th, but announced that it was postponing its ruling for an undisclosed amount of time.
“More time is needed to conclude this process with due care and completeness,” FIFA said via its X account.
Belgium has seen intense anti-Israel demonstrations since the outbreak of the war, which was triggered by the October 7th Hamas terror onslaught.
A 64-year-old Israel tourist was beaten by a mob in Bruges, Belgium in May. The man, who suffered a fractured jaw in the attack, was assaulted after he and his daughter removed an anti-Israel sticker in a train station.