Hapoel Tel Aviv's supporters are once again making the trip across Europe in force: around 2,000 fans have already bought tickets for the club's Conference League third qualifying round first leg against GKS Katowice, ONE reports, with the club anticipating a final crowd of roughly 3,500.
The match, scheduled for August 6, will again be played in Miskolc, Hungary, where Hapoel have based their European "home" fixtures because of the security situation in Israel. It is a routine now for the club and its fan base — pack flights and buses east, and turn a rented Hungarian stadium into as close to Bloomfield Stadium as circumstances allow.
Reaching this stage already represents a landmark European run for Hapoel, who won through their second qualifying round tie against Ludogorets of Bulgaria to set up the meeting with the Polish side. Katowice arrive off the back of their own qualification exploits domestically.
But the ticket-sale news comes with a disciplinary shadow hanging over the club. According to ONE, UEFA has yet to rule on an incident involving flares set off by Hapoel supporters during the away leg in Bulgaria against Ludogorets, with a decision still pending.
That case follows an existing sanction: Hapoel were fined €25,000 by UEFA over pyrotechnics set off during the first leg against Ludogorets in Miskolc. The club is also carrying a suspended partial stadium closure — a conditional 10 percent shutdown of the crowd at its next home European fixture, valid for a two-year period — should further incidents occur.
None of that appears to be denting appetite among the fan base. Hapoel's ultras have built a reputation as some of the most vocal travelling support in Israeli football, and the away-from-home European campaign has, if anything, sharpened that identity — with Miskolc functioning as an adopted home end for successive rounds.
For now the disciplinary matters remain a background concern rather than an active threat to this fixture; the pending Ludogorets ruling and the standing fine do not affect Hapoel's eligibility to play the Katowice tie as scheduled.
The second leg is due in Poland, with Hapoel looking to build on home advantage — in spirit, if not literally on Israeli soil — before travelling for the return.
