Leuven Mayor refuses to host Hapoel Be'er Sheva: "We will not host an Israeli team"

Belgium's Union Saint-Gilloise will be forced to look for an alternative venue for its home match against Hapoel Be'er Sheva in the Europa League, after the mayor of Leuven, Mohamed Ridouani, announced that he would not allow the match to be held in the city. The match between the teams is scheduled for October 22 as part of the tournament's league phase.

According to reports in Belgium, Ridouani justified the decision based on public safety considerations and clarified that, from his perspective, the match could not take place in Leuven even without an audience.

"Union is welcome here, but when it comes to an Israeli team, then no. On this matter, I am consistent," said the mayor.

The decision comes against the backdrop of the fact that Union cannot host its European matches at its home stadium in Brussels, which does not meet UEFA standards. Because of this, it was determined that its home matches in the tournament would be held at the stadium in Leuven, but now it seems that at least the match against Hapoel Be'er Sheva will be moved to another field.

Ridouani, who is considered clearly anti-Israel, has previously expressed sharp positions against Israel against the backdrop of the war in Gaza. In April 2025, the Leuven municipality called for an end to the fighting in the Gaza Strip and even announced the raising of the PLO flag on the city hall building, alongside the transfer of emergency aid to Gaza.

At this stage, Union will be required to find an alternative hosting solution for the match against Hapoel Be'er Sheva, as the European schedule leaves the club less than two months to arrange a field that will meet UEFA requirements.