Sagiv Yehezkel
Personal information
Full name Sagiv Shalom Yehezkel[1]
Date of birth (1995-03-21) 21 March 1995[2]
Place of birth Rishon LeZion, Israel
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[2]
Position(s) Right-back,[3][4] winger[2]
Team information
Current team
 Antalyaspor
Number 29
Youth career
2003–2010 Hapoel Tel Aviv
2010–2013 Maccabi Tel Aviv
2013–2014 Hapoel Tel Aviv
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2016 Hapoel Tel Aviv 39 (7)
2016–2019 Maccabi Tel Aviv 9 (0)
2017–2018 → Ironi Kiryat Shmona (loan) 15 (0)
2018–2019 → Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv (loan) 11 (1)
2019 → MS Ashdod (loan) 9 (3)
2019–2021 MS Ashdod 51 (15)
2021–2023 Hapoel Be'er Sheva 58 (12)
2023–2024 Antalyaspor 13 (6)
International career‡
2012 Israel U17 2 (1)
2012 Israel U18 5 (1)
2013–2014 Israel U19 15 (2)
2015 Israel U21 2 (0)
2022– Israel 8 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 13:08, 15 January 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 12 September 2023

Sagiv Shalom Yehezkel[1] (or Jehezkel,[5] Hebrew: שגיב שלום יחזקאל; born 21 March 1995) is an Israeli professional footballer who most recently played as a right-back and winger for Turkish Süper Lig club Antalyaspor and the Israel national team. In January 2024, Yehezkel was suspended and then sacked for making a gesture of support for Israeli hostages being held during the 2023 Israel–Hamas war after he scored a goal against Trabzonspor.

Early and personal life

Yehezkel was born and raised in Rishon LeZion, Israel, to a family of Israeli-Jewish descent.[6][7][8][9][10]

He married his Israeli fiancée Elian (née Yosef) on 23 June 2022, in moshav Shoresh, Israel.[11][12] Their firstborn son was born in June 2023.[13]

Club career

During his early career, Yehezkel played for Hapoel Tel Aviv and then Maccabi Tel Aviv, and had loan spells at Ironi Kiryat Shmona, Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv and MS Ashdod before joining the latter in 2019.[1]

On 11 February 2021, Yehezkel transferred to Israeli Premier League club Hapoel Be'er Sheva on a three-and-a-half-year contract.[14] He made his debut for the side on 13 February 2021, when he was in the starting line-up in a 2–2 league draw away at Hapoel Haifa.[15]

Yehezkel signed with Turkish Süper Lig club Antalyaspor on 15 September 2023, on a three-season contract running until 30 June 2026.[3] Yehezkel made his debut with Antalyaspor just two days later, in an away league match against Fenerbahçe, coming on as a 54th minute substitute, and providing an assist for his new club's second equaliser.[16] But after just four months with Antalyaspor, Yehezkel's contract was terminated early.[17]

'100 days' incident

On 14 January 2024, Yehezkel scored a 68th minute goal in Antalyaspor's Süper Lig match against Trabzonspor. He controversially celebrated by showing writing on a wrist bandage saying "100 days, 7-10", referring to the Israeli hostages being held by Hamas for 100 days since the 7 October Hamas attacks on Israel.[17] His actions were condemned by Turkey's Minister of Justice Yılmaz Tunç and the Turkish Football Federation, and he was suspended by Antalyaspor, while the club's sponsor said his contract should be terminated.[18] Israeli officials criticised Turkey's actions towards Yehezkel,[18] who was arrested after the match for what Tunç called "the crime of publicly inciting public hatred and hostility due to his ugly action supporting the massacre committed by Israel in Gaza".[19] According to local media, Yehezkel protested his innocence saying: "I did not do anything to provoke or provoke anyone. I am not a pro-war person.... The point I wanted to draw attention to was the end of the war."[19] The player's goal celebration was initially shared on Antalyaspor social media accounts but was later removed.[20]

On 15 January 2024, after being detained overnight, Yehezkel appeared in court charged with incitement to hatred.[21] After being released pending trial, Yehezkel and his family flew to Israel,[21][22] arriving at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv.[23] According to The Guardian, Antalyaspor sacked Yehezkel, accusing him of having "acted against the values of our country";[17] the BBC confirmed Antalyaspor had sacked him, noting it was unclear if he faced prosecution if he returned to Turkey.[23]

Honours

Hapoel Be'er Sheva

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 S. Yehezkel, Soccerway. Retrieved: 15 January 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 Sagiv Yehezkel at FootballDatabase.eu
  3. 1 2 Global, Haber (15 September 2023). "Antalyaspor'a İsrailli sağ bek". HaberGlobal.com.tr (in Turkish). Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  4. ↑ https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/bio/_/id/246798/sagiv-yehezkal
  5. ↑ https://www.uefa.com/european-qualifiers/teams/players/250066056--sagiv-jehezkel/
  6. ↑ https://www.one.co.il/mobile/glitch/69368/%d7%97%d7%92-%d7%92%d7%93%d7%95%d7%9c-%d7%9c%d7%93%d7%a8%d7%95%d7%9e%d7%99%d7%99%d7%9d-
  7. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/ChSYi0QsQcX/
  8. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/BO7BVCvB_Rh/
  9. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/CqIxbjrsJ1I/
  10. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/Cd-7PETM-1h/
  11. ↑ https://www.one.co.il/Mobile/Glitch/69593/%D7%A4%D7%A2%D7%9D-%D7%A9%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%A9%D7%99%D7%AA-%D7%92%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%93%D7%94-
  12. ↑ https://mazaltov.walla.co.il/article/daily-bride/8075/
  13. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/CyDd9D4sEZy/
  14. ↑ "רשמית: שגיב יחזקאל חתם ל-3.5 עונות בב"ש". ONE. 11 February 2021. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
  15. ↑ https://int.soccerway.com/matches/2021/02/13/israel/ligat-haal/hapoel-haifa-fc/hapoel-beer-sheva/3304301/
  16. ↑ https://int.soccerway.com/matches/2023/09/17/turkey/super-lig/fenerbahce-spor-kulubu/antalyaspor/4162395/
  17. 1 2 3 "Israeli footballer reportedly arrested after displaying hostage message during match in Turkey". The Guardian. 14 January 2024. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
  18. 1 2 "Sagiv Jehezkel: Israel footballer in Turkey facing sack for hostage plea". BBC News. 15 January 2024. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
  19. 1 2 "Israeli footballer censured in Turkey for October 7 tribute to be flown home". Financial Times. 15 January 2024. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
  20. ↑ "Israeli soccer player detained in Turkey after protest in support of hostages held in Gaza". CNN. 15 January 2024. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
  21. 1 2 "Israeli footballer leaves Turkey after being detained for Gaza message". Turkish Minute. 15 January 2024. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
  22. ↑ "Turkey frees Israeli footballer detained over Gaza war reference in match". AlJazeera. 15 January 2024. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
  23. 1 2 "Sagiv Jehezkel: Israel footballer leaves Turkey after hostage plea row". BBC Sport. 15 January 2024. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
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