Israel demanded a reversal Monday of the decision to bar Hapoel Beersheba fans from attending a Europa League match in Alkmaar, the Netherlands.

Hapoel Beersheba is scheduled to play against Dutch club AZ Alkmaar Thursday, but Alkmaar Mayor Anja Schouten has barred Israeli fans, classifying the event as “very high risk” out of fear of a repeat of the violent confrontations that happened during the November 2024 Europa League match, when Israelis were assaulted by Muslims across Amsterdam during a match between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Ajax.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar discussed the matter with Dutch Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen, and the Dutch Foreign Ministry has reached out to the Alkmaar municipality to resolve the issue.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it demands that “Hapoel Beersheba fans be allowed to attend the match and that their safety be guaranteed inside and around the stadium.”

“The foreign minister, the Foreign Ministry and the embassy will continue to act vis-à-vis the government of the Netherlands and the mayor of Alkmaar in order to enable the arrival of Hapoel Beersheva fans and to guarantee their safety,” the statement added.

The ministry also said that it “will continue working with the Dutch government and the mayor of Alkmaar to ensure that Hapoel Beersheba fans are permitted to attend the match and that their safety is guaranteed.”

Jewish advocacy groups slammed the decision to ban fans presumably for their own safety.

“Protecting Israeli fans should mean protecting them from violence, not excluding them from the stadium,” said Creative Community for Peace in a statement.

The ban echoes the decision to ban Israeli Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from a match between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Aston Villa in Birmingham, England, in January.

The decision elicited strong condemnations from political leaders and Jewish advocacy groups, and the Independent Office for Police Conduct launched an investigation into West Midlands Chief Constable Craig Guildford, who resigned over the matter after it was revealed that Guildford did not perform due diligence in overseeing intelligence that turned out to be faulty and that presented the police with an imbalanced view of the Israeli fans.