Turkish football club stranded at Israeli airport after Maccabi match

Turkish football club Demir Grup Sivasspor is stranded at an airport in Israel on their way back to Turkey, the team said on Twitter.

“Our group, preparing to return to Sivas after the Maccabi Tel Aviv match, is stranded in the airport. The Israeli authorities are creating all kinds of difficulties for our group by closing the [electronic] system and crossings,” the team said on its social media account, sharing a video from the airport.

The video shows the group waiting at the airport in Tel Aviv, protesting the situation by yelling and clapping their hands. 

"They said the automatic pass system was malfunctioning. They tried to process things manually. There was only one officer," Mecnun Otyakmaz, the club’s chairman, told Anadolu Agency.

"We’ve been stuck here for two hours. The treatment was very uncomfortable," he said, adding they are waiting patiently and calmly.

Statement from Israeli Ministry

Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA), Israeli Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lior Haitat said, “The Sivasspor convoy was held in Tel Aviv because it arrived late.... The plane will take off at 5:30 (6:30 am)." said.

Haitat answered the question of why the plane would be kept until this hour, saying "no flights are made at the airport between 1 and 5 am due to noise at night."

It was reported that Demir Group Sivasspor club, stranded in the airport, got on the plane but Israel did not allow the plane to take off.

Closely following the situation, Turkey's Embassy in Tel Aviv has contacted Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and taken necessary steps in order to solve the problem.

Racist incident in PSG match earlier this week

The incident at the Israeli airport followed an unprecedented walkout of Paris Saint-Germain and Istanbul Basaksehir players over a racist comment by a Champions League official on Tuesday.

Both teams left the pitch after a touchline argument erupted when the Romanian fourth official, Sebastian Coltescu, appeared to describe Basaksehir assistant coach Pierre Webo, a former Cameroon international player as a "negru."

The group game in Paris, which was goalless at the time, was suspended and resumed on Wednesday where it left off, in the 14th minute, with a different set of officials.

PSG forward Kylian Mbappe tweeted "Say no to racism," while teammate Neymar posted "Black Lives Matter." Both players were prominent in the heated discussions on the touchline.

READ MORE: PSG beat Basaksehir 5-1 in CL game suspended after racism row