Union Saint-Gilloise have been to host Hapoel Beer-Sheva in Europa League, however Belgian mayor insists on completely different venue.
Revealed On 1 Sep 2026
A Belgian mayor is refusing to let his metropolis host Israeli membership Hapoel Beer-Sheva for a Europa League sport, that means Union Saint-Gilloise might want to discover a new venue for the match.
Union, who competed within the UEFA Champions League final season, are on account of host the Israeli champion on October 22 after the 36-team Europa League draw was made final Friday.
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The Belgian league runner-up wished to play all 4 of its house video games in Leuven as a result of its personal stadium in Brussels doesn’t meet UEFA requirements for European competitions.
The mayor of Leuven, Mohamed Ridouani, mentioned Monday night that town won’t grant permission for the sport “for the sake of public security”, even in an empty stadium.
Ridouani mentioned his place was in keeping with not permitting Belgium’s nationwide groups to play video games in opposition to Israel in Leuven.
UEFA mentioned Tuesday it had been knowledgeable concerning the metropolis’s place for the Europa League sport.
“It’s the obligation of the host membership to seek out another venue,” UEFA mentioned of Union’s duty, and the stadium change “will likely be identified within the coming days”.
A UEFA ruling for the reason that Hamas assaults on Israel in October 2023 has meant all Israeli membership and nationwide groups have performed their house video games in European competitions in impartial nations. Hapoel Beer-Sheva performed house video games in Hungary and Romania in Champions League qualifying video games this season.
It’s uncommon for Israeli groups’ away video games to be moved.
