AEK fans start burning Israeli flag, throwing stuff at Hapoel fans / News - Basketnews.com

In the first half of the BCL game between AEK and Hapoel Jerusalem, AEK fans instigated a clash between fanbases with several acts of violence on display.

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The Basketball Champions League matchup between AEK Athens and Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem caused a serious conflict between the fans of both teams.

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As documented by several Israeli news outlets, the Greek fans started throwing various things at the Israeli supporters. One of the fans was injured in the process, Tomer Givati from Israel Hayom writes.

AEK fans threw firecrackers at the opposing fans, and started burning an Israeli flag, while several Palestinian flags were seen in the arena as well.

"From the moment we entered the stands, there were several laser pointers aimed directly at our eyes, fireworks, and several firecrackers were fired directly at the stands, luckily they did not hit anything. We spoke to the police, their message was that they did would not enter their stands because it was dangerous," a fan told Givati.

Israeli fans later responded with flares. BN Sports report incidents outside the arena as several loud bangs could be heard before the start of the second half. There were several attempts to break into the Hapoel stand, the Israeli journalist notes.

The game was stopped with a couple of minutes left in the second quarter. Initially, a fan evacuation was recommended but the game was resumed.

Before the start of the third quarter, the game announcer proclaimed that the procedure will be done if even a single minor conflict occurs in the second half.

The Israeli club later released a statement clarifying the discussions that were had between the organizations and the refereeing crew.

The burning of the Israeli flag:

Firecrackers being thrown at Hapoel fans:

AEK fans behaving violently:

Experience of one Israeli fan:

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