Israel's women's national team in The European Water Polo Championship held last week was prevented from wearing dog tags and yellow arm bands calling for the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, during the opening championship games in Eindhoven last week, under orders from the European league.
More stories:
The Israel Water Polo Association's management expressed their anger at the decision and complained about it to the European Aquatics Federation, hoping changes would be made in upcoming games in the tournament.
The Israeli national team’s Greek coach, Dimitris Mavrotas, was allowed to wear a ribbon around his neck as a show of support for the release of Israeli captives.
The team lost 11:20 to Italy in the game. Israel's scorers were Alma Yaacobi with 4, Veronika Kordonskaia with 3, Maria Bogachenko with 2, Shunit Strugo, and Dina Namakshtansky with 1 each.
The men's national team began their first match in the championship an hour after the women's games, facing the Serbian national team in Zagreb. Unlike the women's team, the players coached by Tal Grodman were allowed to go up on stage with black armbands and dog tags, with the team’s captain Ido Goldschmidt holding the dog tag throughout the Israeli anthem.
In the match itself, Israel was defeated 1:22 against the team that finished in fourth place in the previous World Championship. Ronen Gros scored the point for the Israeli team.