Ex-Cercle Brugge and now Bnei Sakhnin (Israel) midfielder Stephane Omeonga was arrested on Monday. In a widely viewed video the Belgian posted online, he can be seen being violently removed from a plane in Rome as he made his way from Brussels to Tel Aviv.
In an in-depth statement, Omeonga spoke of police violence and discrimination, while according to the police, officers intervened because the 28-year-old was on Israel’s blacklist.
Following Omeonga’s testimony, the police issued a statement about what happened on the plane at Rome airport on December 25. Agents of the ‘Polaria’, the Italian customs, apparently intervened because Omeonga was flagged as a threat to Israel. This in itself, is a puzzling idea as he has played football there since joining Bnei Sakhnin from Scottish side Livingston in 2023.
Citing prejudicial treatment, Omeonga said to Walloon newspaper La DH: “They tried to blame the Israeli immigration service for refusing me entry (…) I contacted them the next day and they told me it wasn’t true. I have a valid work permit so I can go.”
😮😡❌⛔️ Professional footballer Stéphane Omeonga, who notably played for #RSCA, #RSCL, and #Genoa, was removed from a plane by the police on the evening of December 25 during a flight between Roma & Tel Aviv 👮
📕 Watch his complete story here – next to the video… pic.twitter.com/FHFmQBLvuB
— Sacha Tavolieri (@sachatavolieri) December 31, 2024
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