Israel-Premier Tech uninvited from Italian race the Giro dell'Emilia over 'safety concerns' from pro-Palestine protests

Israel-Premier Tech will not be racing Italy’s Giro dell'Emilia on Saturday 4 October due to safety concerns, race organisers have said.

"Unfortunately, Israel-Premier Tech will not be at the start of our race. We had to make this decision for reasons of public safety," race organiser Adriano Amici told AFP, on their decision to withdraw the team's invitation to the race.

The decision to exclude the team comes after disruption to the Vuelta a España earlier this month, where pro-Palestine supporters protested Israel-Premier Tech’s presence at race. Due to safety concerns, several stages were shortened, with the final stage of the race cancelled altogether.

"The atmosphere is very tense; there was too much danger for the Israel-Premier Tech riders and the other riders," Amici explained, concluding that the race would be unlikely to finish were IPT in the peloton.

"With our local circuit, which has to be completed five times, there are numerous opportunities to disrupt the race. It's a decision I regret from a sporting perspective, but from a public safety perspective, I had no other choice."

Tensions have been growing in Italy in response to Israel’s continued war on Gaza. Italian dockworkers in Genoa and Livorno blocked ports suspected to be used for the transfer of arms to Israel, as mass pro-Palestine protests spread across the country last week. Dockworkers have further threatened Israel with a total block on tradeshould the Global Sumud Flotilla, an international convoy of 50 boats heading to Gaza to deliver aid, be attacked by Israeli drones. Nationwide strikes were also carried out on Monday, causing the closure of schools and disruption to transport.

The race, set to take place in Bologna on 4 October, has a winding course from Mirandola towards the mountainous Apennines, before tackling four lapped climbs of the San Luca circuit in Bologna. The arrival city's local government had called for Israel-Premier Tech’s exclusion from the race, due to Israel’s “serious crimes against the civilian population in the Gaza strip”.

Although the team has no official links to the Israeli government, its co-owner Sylvan Adams has previously called himself a "self-appointed ambassador-at-large for Israel".

In response to the removal of the team form the Italian race, Bologna’s sport councillor, Roberta Li Calzi, said: “Given what is happening in Gaza it would have been hypocritical to consider the presence of a team linked to this [Israeli] government as insignificant.”

The Giro dell'Emilia is not alone in its decision to exclude Israel Premier Tech from its start-line, with the O Gran Camiño stage race in Spain having already revoked the team’s invitation to the race next year,

Cycling's governing body, the UCI, has made clear that it will not sanction Israeli teams, or bar them from racing. However, sponsor pressure could end in Israel-Premier Tech changing its name and registration base next year.

"We find it extremely regrettable that threats of violence have disrupted our sport," a spokesperson for Israel-Premier Tech told Reuters.

"We wish the organisers a successful race."

Nearly 65,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to figures from the health ministry in Gaza, since the Hamas-led attack against Israel on 7 October 2023, which killed more than 1,200 people.