Seven foreign players of Maccabi Tel Aviv refuse to return to Israel
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Jerusalem: After Maccabi Tel Aviv's Euroleague match in Belgrade the previous evening, none of the team's seven foreign players returned back to Israel on Friday.
The club's decision to withhold 15% of the players' salaries due to the continuing Israel-Hamas war was reported by all prominent Israeli sports media as the reason behind the event, according to Xinhua.
Due to the conflict, Maccabi hosts its Euroleague games at Aleksandar Nikolic Hall in Belgrade, Serbia, behind closed doors, resulting in heavy financial losses.
On Thursday, Maccabi played the local side Red Star Belgrade and lost 98-92.
"At the end of the game, the foreign players spoke with the club's management and announced their decision not to arrive in Israel," Maccabi said in a statement.
It added that the team will show up for its two upcoming Israeli Super League games on Saturday and Monday with only Israeli players.
Maccabi's next Euroleague game is against Zalgiris Kaunas in Lithuania on Thursday.
With inputs from IANS