Tel Aviv Derby Postponed Following Serious Unrest
The sports venue in the city was engulfed by smoke prior to the planned start
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The Israeli Premier League rivalry match featuring Maccabi Tel Aviv and their city rivals was abandoned before commencement on Sunday, following what law enforcement described as "public disorder and violent riots".
"Dozens of smoke devices and fireworks were thrown," Israeli police stated on digital channels, adding "this cannot be considered a sporting event, this is chaos and significant aggression".
A dozen individuals and three law enforcement members were injured, officials confirmed, while multiple persons were taken into custody and 16 held for interrogation.
The unrest happen just a brief period after officials in the Britain announced that supporters of the team cannot be permitted to attend the European competition game at Aston Villa in England next month because of public safety worries.
The local club condemned the match postponement, claiming law enforcement of "gearing up for a battle, not a game", including during meetings in the build-up to the highly-anticipated encounter.
"The shocking situations outside the venue and after the ill-considered and outrageous ruling to abandon the match only prove that the authorities has taken control of the football," the team stated officially.
Their rivals has remained silent, merely stating the game was called off.
The decision by security authorities to exclude Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from the Aston Villa match on November 6 has sparked broad condemnation.
The UK government has since said it is seeking to cancel the prohibition and investigating what additional resources might be needed to make certain the fixture can be conducted securely.
Villa notified their stadium staff that they were not required to attend at the fixture, saying they understood that some "might feel uneasy".
On Thursday, law enforcement confirmed it backed the ban and designated the game as "concerning" based on intelligence and past events.
That involved "violent clashes and discrimination incidents" involving Ajax and their supporters ahead of a game in the Dutch capital in late 2024, when over sixty individuals were detained.
There have been demonstrations at multiple sporting events over the conflict in Gaza, for instance when the national team played the Scandinavian team and the European team in current football World Cup qualifiers.
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