VIDEO SHOWS: COMMENTS FROM MACCABI TEL AVIV COACH ZARKO LAZETIC & MIDFIELDER ISSOUF SISSOKHO ON THE EVE OF THEIR EUROPA LEAGUE GROUP PHASE MATCH AWAY TO ASTON VILLA RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SCRIPT SHOWS: BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND, UK (NOVEMBER 5, 2025) (REUTERS – Access all) 1. MACCABI TEL AVIV COACH ZARKO LAZETIC & MIDFIELDER ISSOUF SISSOKHO ARRIVING FOR PRESS CONFERENCE & TAKING SEATS 2. MEDIA OFFICER INTRODUCING LAZETIC & SISSOKHO BEFORE REMINDING MEDIA THAT THEY ARE THERE TO TALK ABOUT FOOTBALL 3. (SOUNDBITE) (English) MACCABI TEL AVIV COACH, ZARKO LAZETIC, SAYING: REPORTER: “Hi Zarko. Have you had to discuss the backdrop to the game with your squad, with your players? Have you had to discuss it as a group?” LAZETIC: “Yeah, of course.” REPORTER: “And what’s been said?” LAZETIC: “How do you mean?” MEDIA OFFICER: “The atmosphere around the game.” LAZETIC: “No, we are focusing only on football.” REPORTER: “You’ve only got one point in the group. Do you see tomorrow as a must-win, and do you think it might be a bit harder not having supporters there?” LAZETIC: “Yeah, it will be harder than to say ‘must-winning’ against Villa at Villa Park, but, of course, we will try to find our opportunities to do our best, and to see what we can get from this match.” REPORTER: “Can I repeat the question from earlier, is there a sadness that your fans will not be here tomorrow?” LAZETIC: “Yeah, of course.” REPORTER: “Has it made it harder? The task, that you have no supporters here? Is that unfair?” LAZETIC: “Unfair or fair, in the world I am not one who judges about that, but on the pitch it’s 11 against 11, and we will try to do our best.” REPORTER: “Can it be extra motivation for you and the players?” LAZETIC: “If it helps, it would be.” 4. (SOUNDBITE) (English) MACCABI TEL AVIV MIDFIELDER, ISSOUF SISSOKHO, ON PLAYING IN NEUTRAL VENUES & PLAYING AGAINST ASTON VILLA WITHOUT ANY SUPPORTERS, SAYING: “Yeah, like, it’s, Villa for us, you know, like our every game in Europe, when we play (at) home we’re playing in Serbia. So, it’s not a big difference, but we know it’s very important for us, the fans, but we play with this, thinking about them, because they will watch the game on the TV, so, we have to give everything on the pitch to give them some smiles and to be proud of the team.” 5. END OF PRESS CONFERENCE WITH LAZETIC & SISSOKHO LEAVING STORY: Amidst an expected backdrop of protests on Thursday (November 6), with no away supporters allowed to attend the match after police raised public safety concerns, Maccabi Tel Aviv coach Zarko Lazetic said his side arrived in Birmingham focused on football on the eve of their Europa League group phase encounter against Aston Villa. The match, which will take place at Villa Park, has proved controversial after away supporters were forbidden from attending after police raised public safety concerns. The move comes after there were protests at the Israel national team's World Cup qualifiers against Norway and Italy, with police using tear gas on protesters and pro-Palestinian demonstrators in Oslo and Udine. Villa said they were following instructions from the Safety Advisory Group (SAG), who are responsible for issuing safety certificates for games at Villa Park, based on a number of physical and safety factors. Global soccer body FIFA has faced repeated calls to act over the war in Gaza, with Palestinian officials pressing for Israel to be suspended from international football. (Production: Will Russell, Stefan Haskins)
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