I know this is political but its a good question.... There was a terrorist attack in Turkey, that targeted jewish people and jewish intrests, primarily a synagogue, which is a house of worship....that was taken place in the sabbath, which is the holiest day of the week for jewish people. Turkey is a very good and democratic state, and its also a state that lets Israel host games since UEFA has banned all games in Israel, citing that it is 'too dangerous to play'. While this is occuring, we are forced to play abroad. Most of the games we have played were in Italy, which cost too much, in Bulgaria, that was hard to get there and so is Romania and never tried before Ukraine and Georgia..... Another option is Cyprus, but since we had Cyprus in our Group for Euro 2004 Qualifieres we weren't alloweed. But a majority of the games were held in Turkey, Primarily in Ankara, Izmir and Anataly..... Im kinda wondering, how Uefa would say after these attacks, cause if we have a game there, it might be a easy target to make an attack!
those terrorists can go anywhere, in fact it is easier for them to go and kill people in a country which never experienced a terrorist attack before.
Agreed, It just makes a good statement to actually have the games in Israel, cause israel has been focused to maintain security at big games. Not many realize but FIBA allows israeli B-BALL teams to play in Israel. Since then, there wasn't one incident of an attack and most games have about 1,000 to 9,000 people.....at most... Turkey ios used to terror attacks, im sorry to inform They have attacks by PKK and those break-a-way groups. I remember not so long ago, a Women suicde bomber blew up a cafe in Turkia!
I have always though this. The country is currently one of the best prepared to prevent any form of attempted terrorism on a football event due to the current situation in general.Simply moving the games to other "less secure" areas just hightens the risk for everybody involved-from fans to players. I spent a considerable amount of time in Northern Ireland during the early 1980s when the "troubles" were at their height.The Linfield/Coleraine fixtures were always a powder keg just waiting for a spark.Yes, some minor incidents occured at every match, however, nothing ever really got out of hand as the security infastructure was already in place to deal with the potential problems of rival .....er..."fans"....at the football games. Now, if those matches were played elsewhere it would not have been as secure.Simply adopting the same levels of preventative security is no substitute for having actual expierenced people at hand.There is a certain way, a certain "feeling" that one develops from being in such an enviroment for a prolonged period of time.Anything out of the normal is immediately picked up on-something that can't be noticed in a strange place. I have been surprised that nothing untoward has yet happened by these forced moves.
It would be a real embarrasement if UEFA lets this go further and a terrorist attack does infact occur. Than what should they do? Move it to another venue??? Or just punish israel a ban for having there fans killed or injured in abroad games.....
It's all politics. It has nothing to do with safety. European teams wouldn't play in Israel because the rest of Europe is so pro Arafat/PLO/Hamas/Hezbollah. Plus UEFA doesn't want Israel to get a lot of profit from the games, so they hold them outside of the country.
Europe hates Israel with a passion. I hate to beat a dead horse here, but EU did a very extensive survey of all thier nations. In every nation when asked who the biggest threat to world peace was, the vast majority said Israel. Second was the U.S. Europe loves Islamofascism with all of thier shriveled little black hearts. They were certainly Pro-Saddam. Europe is full of communist liberals. Liberals hate Jews. From Stalin to Hitler, they all hated Jews. It's in thier blood. They love Muslims because Muslims are the ultimate anti-semites. Europe will do anything to please these terrorists.
True. Some Israelis see this ban as a punishment for our so called "behaviour towards palestinains". They seem to think that Polticis and soccer don't mix, but they do!! i think that a good stance in UEFA choosing to ban the games was in part due to the fact that many UEFA chairmans have good ties to politics and by banning israel is rather punishing israel for its governmental approach!! Moreover, teams in general benefit when games are in elsewhere, cause its like playing israel without the fear and caution of even coming there as well, as having a home game and a natrual game...so your chances of winning are more like .66 percent rather than .50 percent.... do you get it?
Doesn't anyone post here besides brassmonkey and Kappa18 ? One of the reasons I love Big Soccer is that I can find an oasis away from the depressing state of the world. I don't want to hide from the reality of what you describe, it's just that I don't need to be reminded 24/7. It will take a long time, but we will prevail. It's no accident that we're still here after thousands of years. L'chaim.
You forgot KYHS Soccer as a regular poster. Nothing wrong with posting what REALLY matters. BTW, let's hope your namesake sees the light and injects some reality into the Histradrut.
that's very true. everything will be okay. i agree that games in Israel would be a good idea. if they can play in Turkey, they can play in Israel. granted, Turkey isn't as bad, but still. Security is very good.
Actually, playing in Israel makes sense. Terrorists count on surprise, especially when they can strike soft targets. A stadium can be well secured, especially since the date is known far in advance of the game. People are fearful of uncertainty, but I agree that there's also a political bias in not allowing a game in Israel. Right after 9/11 everyone stopped travelling and going to public meeting places. I went to Disneyland several weeks after 9/11. It was eerily empty, but the workers were so thrilled we came. No lines for the best rides. As I assured my friends, in light of 9/11, precautions at Disneyland and other large gathering places were never better. Have fun. L'chaim.
Makes plenty of sense! Israel is more secured than a vulnurable place like turkey, which xan have a terror attack at any moment..since it is also easy to get 2 by any mean...boat, plane, car...etc... We are making things more and more difficult and it will be very hard for people to get from one end to the othere............... I think the best idea is to do it in a stadium that is in the middle of nowhere like in Beer Sheva or in Eilat. Since there, you have more and more things to not worry about. I would think it would be smart, if........they had a X stadium and randomly went to every stadium, to make things easier........
Turkish Security I disagree. Tel-Aviv is also viable by car, plane, bus etc. Yet, there are more terrorist attacks yearly than there are in Turkiye. While yes, the Turkish were caught off guard by the Istanbul attacks, they have stepped up security significantly. My friend just came back from Turkiye and told me that there are police officers everywhere. The security at the airport was tighter then at Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel-Aviv. Hotels and restaurants have put armed guards at the entrances to prevent disaster. The security is not as poor as some may think. In regards to putting the matches in a southern city, I think is so genious. Terrorists can get to anywhere. Just not long ago there was a shooting in Eilat as a Jordanian shot accross the boarder killing Ecuadorean tourists. Also there is no adequate stadium in Eilat. Be'er Sheva is building a new stadium that will be state of the art (by Israeli standards). The only problem is travel and there are no good hotels in Be'er Sheva. Terrorists can sneak their way in Be'er Sheva. They just travel south of Hebron and within minutes they are in Be'er Sheva. But in truth it doesn't matter what Israel pitches at UEFA because without a complete period without terror attacks they will ban games in Israel regardless of whether it is in Metulla or Eilat.
Re: Turkish Security Of course, the recent attacks in Istanbul won't stop UEFA from holding matches in Turkey. It's just an excuse from UEFA to keep Israeli teams from actually having a chance in the tournaments.
Re: Turkish Security Hypocrisy!!! Turkey gets most of its Security know-how from Israel! Ofcourse since both attacks..there was alot of security... Infact, since the attacks Turkey has beefed up...but still there is no significant proof that next week another bomb will go off. This is not a place where a terrorist sneaks in and kaboom! This is a place where muslims who live in there country terrorize each other. Its not like in israel where u have Palestinains coming into israel and getting help from 1 million suspicous and isolated arabs. These are every day turkish who want to overthrow the government. Turkey is not safe. There is hotels in Beer sheva i belive, so..if there is one its still okay, but i belive by my account there is a marriot, holiday in, dan hotel, sheraton, and a couple others. So you have plenty of space for the fans, the media and the average joe! Plus there is train..so they can easily commute to Tel Aviv after the game.... Israel can even have a game in Tel Aviv...I gurantee..the security at games are very tight and there wasn't 1 incident that happened that a terorrize manage to sneak threw and terroize a soccer match, moreover...a basketball match which is still happening...so don't misjudge Israel If they should play a game, we should have it in the new state of the heart stadium in Netanya! And just for peoples info...Netanya in 5 mins from Jenin. So i dare those mother F_uckers to attack! Cause if they do then we can show them that there will be a massacre in jenin afterall!! With 50 kg loaded napalm striking everywhere and Merkava sitting on there asses!! DAMN THOSE SON OF ZONOT"S!!!!!!! ANI ROTZE LIRTZOWACH ARAVIM!!!!!!!!
Re: Re: Turkish Security What do you mean? Tomorrow's home match for Galatasaray will be held in Dortmund, Germany - due to the bomb attacks in Istanbul.