Turkish prosecutors have launched an investigation against Israeli soccer player Sagiv Jehezkel on charges of “inciting people to hatred and hostility,” said Turkish Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc, over a gesture he made to the Israeli hostages held by Hamas and captured on television after he landed a goal.
“A judicial investigation has been initiated by Antalya Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office against Israeli football player Sagiv Jehezkel for ‘inciting people to hatred and hostility’ due to his ugly gesture supporting Israel’s massacre in Gaza after scoring a goal in the Antalyaspor-Trabzonspor Super Lig match,” Tunc wrote on social media platform X.
Jehezkel, 28, celebrated his equalizer goal in Sunday’s 1-1 draw against Trabzonspor in the top Turkish league by making a heart sign with his hands to the camera, and showed the words “100 days. October 7” along with a Star of David symbol on his wristband. 100 is the number of days the hostages have been in the Palestinian terror group’s captivity.
Jehezkel was promptly suspended from Antalyaspor “until further notice” following the appearance, amid fierce criticism from local fans and media in Turkey. The club president has also promised to terminate his contract.
Media reports Sunday indicated that Jehezkel had been detained for questioning, although such reports could not be immediately verified.
In a post post on X Sunday night, Sinan Boztepe, the president of the Antalyaspor Turkish club, said that Jehezkel had “acted against the sensitivities of Antalya, Antalyaspor and our country.”
It was not immediately clear whether Jehezkel was suspended or fired from the soccer club, though Boztepe vowed to terminate his contract.
Jehezkel was one of hundreds of thousands of Israelis and supporters around the world who called Sunday for the release of hostages who were taken captive in Hamas’s October 7 massacres on southern Israeli communities, which left some 1,200 dead and another 240 taken captive — mostly civilians.
Immediately after the game, Antalyaspor posted a photo of Jehezkel on social media to celebrate the goal, but removed it minutes later, according to Turkish and Israeli media reports, after furious backlash from fans and media.
According to a Channel 12 report on Sunday, if Antalyaspor indeed decides to terminate the contract with the Israeli player — who signed with the club in September 2023 on a three-season long contract until June 2026 — it would need to pay him over $1 million.
This is not the first time the Gaza war has been an issue for Israeli players in the Turkish soccer league. Weeks after the outbreak of the war, Jehezkel and his Arab Israeli teammate Ramzi Safouri decided to sit out a game after the league decided to hold a moment of silence in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza — without any mention of Hamas’s brutal onslaught on Israel that triggered the war.