Israeli soccer player for Turkish team gets arrested following goal dedicated to hostages in Gaza

Turkish authorities arrested Israeli soccer player Sagiv Yehezkel and will face a judge on charges of “incitement to hatred and hostility,” according to Hurriyet, following a post-goal gesture made to mark the 100 days that hostages have been held in Gaza since the Hamas-led October 7 attack.

Israel later confirmed that the court released Yehezkel and he will return home. This came amidst following reports that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Foreign Affairs ministry were working with Turkey diplomatically to ensure the safe release of the soccer player.

Yehezkel plays for Turkey’s Süper Lig team, Antalyaspor, as well as for Israel’s National Soccer team. The gesture he made was in the form of a bandage with “100 dates, 7.10, and half a heart” marked with black ink.

After the gesture, Turkish soccer fans on social media attacked the Israeli player, leading to the soccer club Antalyaspor announcing the unilateral release of Yehezkel from his contract for the team, as well as the eventual questioning by Turkey’s police.

"I will not accept such behavior, even if it costs us in winning titles,” club president, Sinan Boztepe told the local media. "No matter how much respect the footballer brings us, the values ​​of the country and national honor stand above everything. We will invite him for a conversation, hear his version and say goodbye to him."

Yehezkel provided Ynet with what happened behind the scenes, telling the club leaders "All in all, I decided to make a humanitarian gesture to the Israeli hostages in Gaza.”

"It was important for me to point out that they have been in captivity for 100 days. I had no purpose to provoke or express a position on the matter. I know the sensitivity in Turkey, it was a pure gesture,” he explained.

"Throughout my time in Turkey I did not express any position on the issue," Yehezkel added, "When the head of the club informed me about a ceremony to commemorate the dead in Gaza before a game in Gaziantep, and they allowed me not to come, I stayed in Antalya and everything was fine.”

“All in all, I marked half a heart and also wrote the number 100. It was not meant to provoke, on the contrary. Empathy for the abductees who are there every - So many days. I made sure throughout my time to be focused only on football,” he concluded.

In addition to the prime minister and foreign ministry, Israel's soccer federation (UEFA) head and a lawyer were appealing for the player’s safety and release. For their part, the Turkish Federation issued a strong statement against Yehezkel for actions “which offends human dignity and the conscience of Turkish society.”