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KAA Gent will play a home game against Westerlo on Saturday evening and will be highlighting a new partnership with Baloise. But Hein Vanhaezebrouck took this moment on Friday to make another statement.
The Gent coach is clearly not happy about his team having to play a game against Israeli club Maccabi Haifa in an empty stadium in February. Mayor De Clercq decided this because the fear of incidents and even a bomb threat from pro-Palestinian activists is too great.
“When I read that the KAA Gent Foundation is mobilizing more than 30,000 people…” said Hein Vanhaezebrouck on Friday on the sidelines of a preview of the game against Westerlo. “We will soon have a game where no fans can be present. Why shouldn’t we welcome 20,000 people from the foundation? They just unite!”
“It is almost my eighth year here and my mouth is still open when I see what the foundation does and how its organizations are valued. I think it would be a very good signal to invite all these people.”
Free
“I would even say to our management: Let everyone in for free.” They are peaceful, live together and know what it’s like to have difficulties sometimes. But with the support of the foundation, they experience fantastic moments. You see these people laughing and having fun. It’s always a pleasure to watch them at work. It could be a crazy idea, you never know.”
The party behind closed doors really bothers Vanhaezebrouck. The Gent coach recognizes that it has an impact on his players. “A game without fans is always a shame. “We may have broken a record in the group stage this year,” says Vanhaezebrouck, looking back on the European tours in the group stage.
“We have just been able to fly back from Iceland because of a volcanic eruption, but we have also played two away games against teams in a war situation who had to play elsewhere and now we are facing a country like that.”
take hostages
“We are not allowed to play with people in our own stadium because a small group of people is holding a large group of people hostage. We stand for peace and understanding, but to then decide to leave the stadium empty because a few people did something stupid at a New Year’s reception is not a good signal.”
“South Africa has left the situation of apartheid behind it, but thanks to rugby this country is now much more united,” said the Ghent coach, who concluded with a clear message to the city council. “Playing in an empty stadium is the easiest.”
“100 percent certainty that the game will be canceled”
The Ghent police understand the call and say they find it “unfortunate” too. “But we estimate the probability that the game will be canceled to be 100 percent,” answers Filip Rasschaert, chief of the Ghent police. “This is so widespread that we know we have to evacuate the stadium.”
Not long ago there was a bomb threat at the KAA Gent Arena, says Rasschaert. “Then we actually had to evacuate, but because we had an idea which direction to look for the caller, we didn’t do that. Well, that’s what the d’office should do.”
Rasschaert emphasizes that this is not a savings for the police force. “A lot will still happen. But when we let people in, it just becomes uncontrollable. The only chance would be to sweep the stadium 100% and close it early. But we see that people still come in with pyrotechnic material. The stadium also does not have a double perimeter wall. That would make the control easier to manage. This is the only way to keep it manageable.”
“If the game is canceled we will lose anyway”
“What should I do then, ignore very clear advice from the police?” answers Mayor Mathias De Clercq. “There is a high likelihood of serious incidents occurring before and during the game. If the game is abandoned, we will lose with a loss of points anyway. This is not an easy decision for me as Buffalo, but I take responsibility. This is again at the express request and advice of our police, who have the necessary evidence to do so.”
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