'Regrettable' - Israel Premier Tech respond to Giro dell’Emilia exclusion
Israel Premier Tech have responded to being excluded from participating in the Giro dell’Emilia, after race organisers withdrew their invitation, citing security threats linked to planned protests.
On Saturday, Adriano Amici, the race organiser of the Giro dell’Emilia, told AFP about the decision. “Unfortunately, Israel-Premier Tech will not be at the start of our race. We had to make this decision for reasons of public safety.” said Amici.
The move follows growing tensions in Italy, with the Bologna city council explicitly calling for the exclusion of the Israel-registered team amid concerns about potential mass protests, particularly from the city's large student community.
"The atmosphere is very tense; there was too much danger for the Israel-Premier Tech riders and the other riders," Amici explained. "With our final circuit to be covered five times, the possibility of the race being disrupted is very high. It's a decision I regret from a sporting perspective, but from a public safety perspective, I had no other choice."
Unlike WorldTour events, where teams receive automatic invitations, the Giro dell'Emilia is a ProSeries race, allowing organisers discretion over which teams they invite.
Israel-Premier Tech have since responded with disappointment to their exclusion from the Italian one-day race, which is set to take place on October 4, expressing regret over the situation in a statement to Cyclingnews.
"The organisers have cited security concerns linked to planned protests that threatened to disrupt the race. We find it extremely regrettable that threats of violence have disrupted our sport. We wish the organisers a successful race," the team said, according to Cyclingnews.
The exclusion comes in the wake of multiple protests that disrupted stages of the Vuelta a España, including a mass demonstration that led to the cancellation of the final stage and podium ceremony in Madrid centred around the involvement of Israel-Premier Tech in the Spanish Grand Tour.
More than 65,400 people, most of them civilians, have been killed since Israel invaded Gaza in response to the October 7 terrorist attacks, which killed more than 1,000 people.
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