Barcelona reject Israeli basketball team training facility request

Barcelona rejected a request from an Israeli basketball team to train at their facilities next week, a club source confirmed to AFP on Wednesday. (X/@FCBbasket)
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Updated 08 October 2025
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Barcelona reject Israeli basketball team training facility request

  • “We don’t want to have any problems,” explained the club source, after an increase in protests against Israel because of the Gaza war
  • Spain’s government has labelled Israel’s actions a “genocide“

BARCELONA: Barcelona rejected a request from an Israeli basketball team to train at their facilities next week, a club source confirmed to AFP on Wednesday.
The Catalan club said it was for logistical and public order reasons that they would not allow Hapoel Jerusalem to train on their Palau Blaugrana court before a match against Baxi Manresa on October 15 in the EuroCup competition.
“We don’t want to have any problems,” explained the club source, after an increase in protests against Israel because of the Gaza war.
The source said on that day preparations would also begin for a Barca handball match in the Champions League, and that Manresa were obliged to allow their opponents use of their court.
Valencia Basket are due to face Hapoel Tel Aviv, another Israeli team, in the EuroLeague competition on the same day.
The pro-Palestinian BDS movement, calling for boycotts, divestment and sanctions against Israel, has called for that match to be canceled.
Spain’s government has labelled Israel’s actions a “genocide” and prime minister Pedro Sanchez in September called for Israeli teams to be excluded from international sport.
Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has killed at least 67,183 people, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, figures the United Nations considers credible.
They launched their Gaza offensive in October 2023 in retaliation for an unprecedented cross-border attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures.


Pro-Palestinian demonstration disrupts Euro 2028 launch event in London

Updated 12 sec ago
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Pro-Palestinian demonstration disrupts Euro 2028 launch event in London

LONDON: A pro-Palestinian demonstration disrupted the official launch event for the 2028 European Championship in London on Wednesday.
A relatively small but noisy group protested outside the venue at Piccadilly Circus as officials from European soccer’s governing body — including UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin — attended the event.
The next edition of the Euros will be co-hosted by Britain and Ireland. The event Wednesday was arranged to unveil branding and the match schedule.
While attendees gathered inside, chants of “Kick Israel out” and “Get your hands off Palestine” could be heard outside.
There have been calls to ban Israel from sports events following the Gaza conflict.