This year we mark the 50th anniversary of the murder of soccer player Moti Kind – and it seems we have learned nothing.

For hundreds of thousands of devoted fans, soccer is supposed to be an enjoyable social and family experience, but their reputations are repeatedly stained and their experience stolen, with no wrongdoing on their part. A handful of rioters’ violent outbursts, as they push the boundaries and find them nonexistent, a symptom of fans’ removal from decision-making centers and of a lack of enforcement. Under the cover of lax enforcement, rioters without boundaries have taken over the shared experience and turned it into a dangerous and violent space.

It’s no wonder that the Israeli government’s, the Israeli police’, the legal system’s, and the heads of the soccer industry’s failure to deal with incidents of violence and racism exploded in the faces of all Israeli soccer fans last night, but this violence did not begin at Sami Ofer and Bloomfield stadiums. Data from the “Kick It Out” program, collected by observers sent to the soccer fields, shows an alarming increase in unaddressed violent incidents – in the first round of the ‘24-’25 season, there was a 34% increase in the number of incidents of violence and racism in the stands compared to last season. Although the data is sent every two weeks to decision-makers and industry managers, nothing has been done to stem the routine of violence. As evidence, the conduct of the Israel Police before the game contributed greatly to the fact that the fan clubs of the two teams that played at Sami Ofer arrived aggressively, with the desire to break the law and unleash any restraint.

In conclusion – the fans and the clubs are the last ones who should be considered guilty in the Sammy Ofer and Bloomfield events. We must change our conception in order to combat the sick condition of sports in Israel, appoint a dedicated judge to handle sports cases in a civil court, and significantly increase enforcement by the Israel Police. Only in this way can we once again enjoy soccer without fearing for the safety of the players and fans.

Articles on the topic have appeared in Walla and Sport1 (in Hebrew). This was Matan’s personal column in Ynet.