Antwerp Mayor Blocks Kickboxing Champ’s Gym Opening, Citing Safety Concerns

Jamal Ben Saddik’s new fitness and boxing gym will not open on January 2 as announced due to the mayor’s veto, reports Het Laatste Nieuws (HLN). "The mayor opposed the opening of our Vinci Club fitness and boxing gym. Next week, the court will rule on our opposition to this unjustified measure," said the Belgian kickboxing champion of Moroccan origin.

To justify its decision, the town hall considers that "it is too dangerous". In recent months, several attacks have targeted the Ben Saddik family’s restaurant and another of their properties, which escaped an arson attempt. Saïd Ben Saddik, the kickboxer’s brother, would be in the sights of the assailants for a drug story. He ran a phone shop in the building where the restaurant is located and would have stolen a drug shipment.