Istanbul Basaksehir fine, loan Israeli player for social post

Istanbul Basaksehir have fined Israeli midfielder Eden Kartsev and loaned him to his former club Maccabi Haifa after he posted a message of support on social media for the hostages held by Hamas.

Kartsev, 23, shared the slogan “Bring them home now” on Instagram on Sunday, referring to Israeli citizens held hostage by Hamas for 100 days.

A Basaksehir spokesperson said his post had “violated the sensitive values ​​of our country” and that the player was loaned to Maccabi Haifa, where he graduated until the end of the season.

Basaksehir's statement also said Karzev deleted the post from his social media account at the club's request on Monday.

Karzev, who has played 11 times in the Turkish Super Lig this season, is the second Israeli player after Sagiv Jehezkel to be sanctioned by a Turkish team for messages of support for the hostages of the October 7 Hamas attacks.

Israeli international Jehezkel was charged by Turkish authorities on Monday for wearing a bandage with the words “100 days 7.10” on his wrist in reference to the hostages after scoring in Antalyaspor's draw against Trabzonspor on Sunday.

Information from Reuters contributed to this report.