Racist chanting by Israeli football fans grew rapidly over the past year, data shows, with Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters the most likely to engage in discriminatory behaviour. The research was conducted by Kick It Out Israel, which is funded by a civil society organisation, Givat Haviva, that works towards the “creation of a shared society for Jews and Arabs”.
It found 367 instances of racist chanting at Israeli Premier League (IPL) matches in the 2024-25 season, a record total and an increase of 67% on the previous campaign.
Of those incidents 118 were observed in stands containing Maccabi supporters and the most commonly recorded chant was “Let the IDF win, fuck the Arabs”, a slogan sung by Maccabi fans during unrest that preceded the club’s match against Ajax last season.
The figures add context to the decision by West Midlands police to ban Maccabi supporters from attending next month’s Europa League fixture with Aston Villa in Birmingham. The prospect of travelling Maccabi fans shouting “racist taunts” was among the key observations made in police intelligence and risk assessments.
The Kick It Out Israel report observed 165 violent incidents at IPL matches last season. This includes thrown objects and pitch invasions. It was a 21% decline on the previous season.
Matan Segal, the director of Kick It Out Israel, which has no links to English football’s anti-discrimination organisation Kick It Out, said the 2024-25 season would “be remembered not for the football itself, but for a series of troubling events that should concern every citizen in Israel”. He accused authorities of a “lack of enforcement against racism, violence and homophobia” and said there was an “absence of a serious and effective effort to combat these phenomena”.
Beitar Jerusalem fans were recorded as making the second-most racist chants, with 115, and next were Maccabi Netanya with 29 chants.
The Israel Football Association (IFA) said: “Racist comments are part of almost every league and a problem that world and European football is dealing with.” It said it had a three-pronged approach to addressing abuse, via education, information campaigns and “strict disciplinary punishment”.
The IFA went on to say: “Racist comments from fans have no place on football fields and in general. In the face of manifestations of antisemitism and racist comments against Israel and Jews, we insist on proving that it is possible otherwise. It would be better if those who accuse Israeli football of racism looked at themselves first.”
A growth in racism at Israeli grounds is at odds with broader trends in Europe, according to Piara Powar, the executive director of the Fare network, which monitors racist activity at football matches across the continent. “In the European context, and indeed in a global environment, it’s difficult to say that discrimination is going up as a whole,” he said.
Fare estimates there are 3,000 incidents of discrimination in the top divisions in Europe every season. “There are peaks and troughs, different global, regional and national events that impact regions and countries differently,” he said.
“What we do know is that discrimination in all of its forms has attached itself to football for a long time and while there is much more awareness of its existence and its pernicious impact it is difficult to see it going away any time soon. Particularly not in the cauldron of political division, far-right political mainstreaming and social media underregulation that we face.”
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FairSquare, which advocates for the upholding of human rights in sport, this week wrote to Uefa arguing the IFA was in breach of Article 7 of Uefa’s statutes, which require member associations to “implement an effective policy aimed at eradicating racism and any other forms of discrimination”.
FairSquare said the Kick It Out Israel report “provides clear grounds for Uefa to act and suspend the IFA”, an action Uefa had been expected to take last month before the announcement of plans for the ceasefire in Gaza.
Maccabi Tel Aviv and Uefa did not respond to requests for comment on Kick It Out Israel’s findings.
