Flight incident
Belgian professional footballer taken away in handcuffs
01/05/2025 – 12:21 a.mReading time: 2 minutes
A Belgian professional footballer was arrested by police on a plane. Stéphane Omeonga makes serious allegations against the officials.
Belgian soccer player Stéphane Omeonga made serious allegations against the police in an Instagram post. According to his own statements, he was a victim of police violence on December 25th. The incident occurred during a flight from Rome to Tel Aviv when a flight attendant told him there was a problem with his travel documents. “I calmly asked him what the problem was because I was confident of the validity of my documents,” Omeonga explained.
According to the footballer, the flight attendant called the police, who removed him from the plane in handcuffs. He was then thrown to the ground outside the plane and beaten. “One of the police officers pressed his knee against my head,” he continued. In the police car he heard over the radio that he had allegedly refused medical help – an account that he firmly rejected: “I asked them to take me with them in the ambulance because I was afraid of what they might do to me.”
Omeonga described being held in a “gray room” for several hours without water or food. After his release, he learned that a police officer had filed a complaint against him for alleged bodily harm. To date, Omeonga said he has received no explanation for his arrest.
The professional footballer also criticized social discrimination and called for more commitment against racism. “Many people who look like me can’t find work, don’t have access to housing, or can’t participate in the sports they love just because they’re Black,” he explained.
Agents from Polaria, the Italian customs agency, apparently intervened because Omeonga was considered a threat to Israel, Yahoo News reported. He has been playing there for the Bnei Sakhnin club since 2023 and says he has a valid visa. Omeonga was later released.