The last season broke negative records in terms of racism and violence on soccer fields in Israel. Two games were stopped due to fan behavior, and some would say that decided the championship. At Turner Stadium in Be’er Sheva, violence flared up between Be’er Sheva fans and Bnei Sakhnin fans following the latter’s disrespecting the national anthem, and in the season game between Maccabi Haifa and Maccabi Tel Aviv, the field became an arena for non-stop pyrotechnics by local fans from the Carmel. These are the images that are burned into memory, but the data is even worse: 367 racist chants were measured by observers of “Kick It Out.” For comparison, in the 2023-24 season, 224 racist chants were recorded, and that was a negative record until this year.
The trend is clear: violence and racism are getting worse, and the system’s response is inadequate. The Toto Cup events and incidents in the matches of Israeli teams in Europe have only heightened the concern and deepened the crisis of trust between Israeli football and UEFA: A new-old crisis that has emerged due to government inaction in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Thus, the Israel Football Association has been forced in recent years to deal with repeated attempts to keep Israel away from international fields.
Urgent discussions, emergency meetings – all of this has happened before, but recently the situation has escalated. The death of Suleiman al-Obeid, a former player for the Palestinian national team, has sparked waves of reactions around the world: from statements by Egyptian soccer star Mohammed Salah, to the waving of a giant sign at the European Super Cup final with the inscription “Stop killing children, stop killing civilians” to the isolation of Israel on the grounds that it does not agree with this statement. The UEFA president himself noted that expelling Israel is a “legitimate question.” In other words, we are one step away from a red card and being banned from European competitions.
The anger of the Israeli fan community is understandable. The sense of injustice in the face of the murder of the late Lior Assulin and the murder of the 12 children on the soccer field in Majdal Shams, which received no attention from UEFA, is indeed mind-boggling. But let’s not be confused. Chants of “death to the Arabs,” desecration of flags, and comparisons to the Holocaust will not strengthen Israel, but quite the opposite. The clear trend weakening Israel’s position will only increase the pressure to oust us from European institutions.
It’s important to understand: this is not anti-Semitism, it’s about fan behavior. In Europe, there is a clear expectation of different, respectful behavior, and we are under a magnifying glass. As part of the Fare program, which was fully adopted by UEFA officials and encompasses the fight against racism and violence on European pitches, there is serious consideration of the worrying data coming from Israel. Officials there say it out loud: “This season is a real test for Israeli football fans.”
We have already received a “yellow card” in the form of the signs at the Super Cup and the refusal to hold international matches in Israel. The second yellow will come from the behavior of the fans themselves. And when that happens, there will be no escape from the red card.
The responsibility is ours: fans, players, referees, team owners, association officials, management, and everyone who has a foot in the game we love. Not UEFA’s, nor “anti-Semitism in Europe”. If we want to continue to be part of the European game, we must stop destroying it from within.
Matan Segal is the director of the “Kick It Out” program, operated by Givat Haviva
The full column in “Israel Hayom” (Hebrew) – here
