Yusuf KamadanIsraeli footballer Sagiv Jehezkel, who was detained due to his actions during a Turkish Super League match, was released from detention on Monday.
Jehezkel, after scoring a goal in the Antalyaspor-Trabzonspor match, was detained for "inciting public animosity and hostility" over his gesture in support of Israel’s aggression against Palestinians since October 7.
During his statement to the police, Jehezkel said that before entering the field, he had written "100 days" and "07.10" on the white bandage around his injured left wrist and drawn a Star of David, in the locker room.
He emphasised that there was no teammate or member of the technical staff with him at that time.
"My goal was to draw attention to the 100th day of the ongoing war between Hamas and Israel,” Jehezkel said.
"About 2 hours after the match, I realised that the gesture I made during the match had spread on social media and caused reactions,” he said.
“I sincerely apologise to the entire Turkish people for this gesture I made during the match. I regret it. I did not intend to provoke anyone. I also did not think it could lead to such a reaction."
Antalyaspor announced that Jehezkel has been excluded from the squad.
Disciplinary probe against Israeli midfielder
A disciplinary probe against another Israeli footballer Eden Karzev was launched by the RAMS Basaksehir football club on Monday.
Istanbul's Basaksehir, who won the Turkish Super Lig title in 2020, said on X that Karzev, 23, will face a disciplinary proceeding after he shared a pro-Israel post on Instagram to mark 100 days since the start of the war on Gaza.
The club also demanded a written defence for "violating disciplinary regulations of the club" as Karzev's post "goes against sensitivities of Türkiye."
Karzev joined Basaksehir in 2023 to play 17 matches as a midfielder.
Israel has launched relentless air and ground attacks on Palestine's Gaza since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas on October 7.
Over 21,000 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and more than 60,000 injured, according to Palestinian health authorities.
According to the UN, 85% of the population of Gaza is already internally displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure is damaged or destroyed.
