Hapoel Tel Aviv will face Gran Canaria Thursday night in the 13th round of the Eurocup and once again pro-Palestinian activists want to disrupt an Israeli team's game in a European competition. In the lead-up to the match, footage of an Israeli flag being burned outside the home stadium of the Reds' rival has surfaced online.
Local media referred to the shameful display as a "protest against the occupation and genocide that the Palestinian people are undergoing." This is in addition to the accusation that Israel "murdered 47,000 women, children and the elderly in one year." Hapoel Tel Aviv fans also were referred to as "hooligans," citing the violent example in Amsterdam in which Maccabi Tel Aviv fans were attacked. "We saw how the Nazi Zionists ran amok in Amsterdam, we must be careful that these events do not happen again," was how the incident was framed.
The pro-Palestinian organization that gathered to burn the Israeli flag called for a boycott of the match between the Hapoel Tel Aviv and Gran Canaria, claiming that holding the match "gives legitimacy to the murderous Zionist regime." In addition, this organization accused the owner of the Spanish team of "preferring to remain silent and destroy our efforts. He had the opportunity to prevent the team from appearing in the match."
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This is the second meeting between Hapoel Tel Aviv and Gran Canaria in Group A of the Eurocup. In the first game, the Reds won 79-66. The Spaniards come to the game from second place at home, with a record of nine wins and three losses, while Hapoel Tel Aviv comes from fourth place with a record of 7-5.