Khaberni - Real Madrid announced on Monday evening that its basketball team's match against Maccabi Tel Aviv in the European League, which will be held on Thursday in Madrid, will be behind closed doors due to security concerns.
The Spanish club said in a statement that the decision was taken in compliance with a police recommendation after the match was deemed high-risk, adding that tickets for the match will be refunded.
Real Madrid clarified, "After a meeting of the governmental committee for combating violence, racism, xenophobia, and intolerance in sports, which declared the match high-risk, Real Madrid complies with the recommendation provided by the national police."
The matches of the Israeli teams Maccabi and Hapoel Tel Aviv have been played in neutral venues since October 2023 until last month due to protests over the conflict in Gaza.
Stink bombs interrupted a match between French club Paris and Maccabi last season, and Turkish team Fenerbahçe moved its home matches against Israeli teams to Munich last November due to security concerns.
Real Madrid is currently in tenth place in the European League basketball standings with 11 wins, while Maccabi is in fourteenth place with eight wins.
