Derry Triathlon: Israeli Coach Says Police Told Athletes It Was Safe to Race

Four Israeli athletes were removed from a triathlon race in Londonderry, Northern Ireland, on Thursday. Their national coach says the local police had told the team it was safe to compete just hours before. The coach, Lior Cohen, called the sudden withdrawal a total surprise. The athletes had traveled to take part in the Europe Triathlon Cup.

Cohen said he had been in contact with police for two weeks before the race. Officers told him everything was on schedule and that the team could race in their official uniforms. He was shocked when things changed on the morning of the event. The first he heard of any problem was a WhatsApp message from local race organizers raising safety red flags about the Israeli athletes.

The local group running the race is called the North West Triathlon Club, or NWTC. Ian Cullen from the club said having the Israeli athletes compete could be unsafe for them and possibly for all other racers. He said the decision to pull the athletes involved several groups, including the police, Triathlon Ireland, Europe Triathlon, and the Israeli federation. He noted the decision went well above the local organizing level.

However, on Monday, a spokeswoman for the Police Service of Northern Ireland said the police did not give any security advice about the event. She also said they were not involved in organizing it. This directly contradicts what Coach Cohen described. Earlier, on Thursday, police had said they became aware of potential protest activity connected to the race.

The Israeli Triathlon Association, known as the ITA, is now looking into taking legal action. It said it has extremely serious concerns about discriminatory treatment and antisemitism over how the situation was handled. Discrimination means treating someone unfairly based on who they are, and antisemitism means prejudice toward Jewish people. The ITA believes the athletes were treated unfairly because of their nationality.

This dispute is part of a wider pattern of controversy in Irish sports since Israel began its war in Gaza in 2023. Ireland's national soccer team is scheduled to play Israel in a UEFA Nations League match later this month. More than 39 people, including a former Irish soccer manager and several music stars, signed a letter asking Irish authorities to refuse to play. The Football Association of Ireland said it will go ahead with the games.

The war in Gaza began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 others hostage. Since then, more than 73,460 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the territory's health ministry. The United Nations considers those figures to be reliable. The conflict has sparked protests and debates about sports events involving Israel around the world.