A new negative record on soccer fields in Israel | 367 racist chants were recorded during the last season – a sharp increase of 64% compared to the previous season (224 chants). This is the third consecutive year in which there has been an increase in the number of racist chants in the stands. The verbal violence and racist incitement on the fields must raise a red flag – not only among sports fans, but among all of us as a society.
Two games were halted this season – and this is a serious warning sign | In the game between Hapoel Beer Sheva and Bnei Sakhnin, even before the opening whistle, Beer Sheva fans broke onto the pitch following the show of disrespect for the national anthem, in an attempt to confront Sakhnin fans.
In another case, the match between Maccabi Haifa and Maccabi Tel Aviv was stopped at halftime due to repeated throwing of flares by Maccabi Haifa fans. These are not just isolated incidents – but evidence of a worrying deterioration in violence and racist discourse on the fields.
A decrease in violence? Only on paper | According to the Kick It Out report by Givat Haviva, 165 violent incidents were recorded during the last game season, including throwing objects and pitch invasions. While this is a 21% decrease compared to the previous season – it is still exceptionally high and a record number of serious incidents that endanger public discourse, sports, and society as a whole.
Read the full report here
