Belgian Mayor Bans Israeli Football Team, Then Bans the Stadium, Then Bans the Entire Concept of Thursday
The mayor of Leuven has escalated his refusal to host a Europa League match against an Israeli club by banning the team, the stadium, and finally the entire weekday on which the game was scheduled.
Leuven mayor Mohamed Ridouani has escalated his opposition to a Europa League match between Union Saint-Gilloise and Hapoel Beer-Sheva by issuing a municipal decree that bans the Israeli team from the city, the Den Dreef stadium from hosting the fixture, and the entire concept of Thursday from the local calendar until further notice.
«The Union is welcome here, but the Hapoel is not, and since the match can only be played on a Thursday, I have decided that Thursdays no longer exist in Leuven,» Ridouani told the municipal council on Monday night, to applause from councillors who immediately began drafting a supplementary ban on the colour orange, which they said was «too reminiscent of the away kit».
The mayor also rejected the option of playing behind closed doors, arguing that protesters could still gather near the stadium. He has therefore ordered the construction of a 14-kilometre cordon of empty shipping containers around the venue, staffed by municipal workers whose only duty is to stand silently and shake their heads at anyone approaching. «Even without spectators, the idea of the match existing somewhere in the world on a day I have abolished is unacceptable,» he added.
Union Saint-Gilloise, which had already moved its European home games to Leuven because its own stadium in Brussels fails to meet UEFA requirements, is now exploring the possibility of playing the fixture on a Tuesday in the middle of the North Sea on a decommissioned oil platform. Club officials confirmed they have received no response from the mayor, who is reportedly busy drafting a ban on the number eleven, which appears on the shirts of two Hapoel players.
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