Italian race organiser says there is high possibility of race disruption due to participation of Israeli team.
The Israel-Premier Tech cycling team has been excluded from Italy’s upcoming Giro dell’Emilia competition due to concerns over public safety, race organisers said.
The decision announced on Saturday comes after the recent Vuelta a Espana cycling race suffered several disruptions by pro-Palestinian protesters who took to the streets of the Spanish capital, Madrid, to block the participation of Israel-Premier Tech, forcing the cancellation of the race’s final stage.
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Calls for Israel to be excluded from global sporting events, festivals and music competitions have been growing since the country’s invasion of Gaza, which has killed almost 66,000 Palestinians, in an operation the United Nations has described as a “genocide”.
“It is with regret that, following recent events and given the characteristics of the final circuit, for the safety of all athletes, technical staff, and spectators, I have had to forgo the participation of the Team this year,” said Adriano Amici, organiser of the one-day Giro dell’Emilia, which will take place on October 4, finishing in Bologna.
“We had to make this decision for reasons of public security,” Amici told the Reuters news agency.
“There’s too much danger for both the Israel Tech riders and others. The race’s final circuit is run five times so the possibility of the race being disrupted is very high,” he said.
Police in the Italian city of Milan clashed with pro-Palestinian protesters on Monday, during a nationwide strike in Italy called by trade unions to protest against Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
The Giro dell’Emilia race concludes with a climb to the Madonna di San Luca sanctuary, not far from the historic centre of Bologna, which has a large student population and a long history of left-wing politics.
Bologna’s local government, which is controlled by the centre-left Democratic Party, called for Israel-Premier Tech’s exclusion from the race, noting the Israeli government’s guilt in carrying out “serious crimes against the civilian population in the Gaza Strip”.
Roberta Li Calzi, the city’s sport councillor, welcomed the decision to exclude the Israeli team, which is owned by Israeli-Canadian property developer Sylvan Adams.
Adams, the president of the Israel region of the World Jewish Congress, is referred to by that organisation as “committed to promoting Israel’s global image”.
“Given what is happening in Gaza it would have been hypocritical to consider the presence of a team linked to this [Israeli] government as insignificant,” Calzi said in a statement.
Pressure is mounting on Israel on all fronts over its brutal war and continued ignoring of international calls to end the slaughter of Palestinians.
European football’s governing body, UEFA, is expected to soon vote on whether to suspend Israel’s football team, whose men’s side is in the middle of attempting to qualify for next year’s World Cup, from all competitions under its jurisdiction. The 20-member UEFA ruling committee is expected to secure a majority to exclude Israel from games if that vote is called.
Members of the Eurovision Song Contest are also due to vote on excluding Israel from the 2026 competition due to its military onslaught in Gaza.
