The New Israel Fund has labelled Maccabi Tel Aviv FC fans as among the “most racist” in Israel.
Ten years ago, Canadian billionaire and Maccabi Tel Aviv FC owner Mitchell Goldhar promised to take action against racism among the fans of his club.
In the summer of 2014, the Jerusalem Post reported that Maccabi fans had directed racist chants against one of their own players, Maharan Radi, during a training session.
In a statement, Goldhar said:
“Hatred, intolerance or abusive behavior against anyone on the basis of their race is malicious and morally corrupt [...] Racism at large is not my specific responsibility, though I will stand strongly against it. But when racism is directed at any individual or organization for which I am specifically responsible, particularly at Maccabi Tel Aviv, I will use every instrument and resource available to me to protect them.”
He continued:
“I have instructed the legal adviser to take all steps necessary to identify and prosecute any individual involved, directly or indirectly with racist behavior affecting Maccabi Tel Aviv. Further, any individual involved with racist behavior of any variety is at odds with Maccabi Tel Aviv’s principles and thus by definition cannot be a supporter or fan of our team.”
In 2019, Radi explained that some of his teammates tried to talk to the supporters who had directed the racist abuse against him. Radi said that a few days later, the team captain told him: “There’s nothing we can do, they just hate Arabs.”
Fast forward to 2023, and according to a report by the New Israel Fund (NIF), Maccabi racked up the second-highest number of reports of racist chanting during the 2022-2023 season, behind only Beitar Jerusalem, whose racist “ultras” group, La Familia, is notorious in Israel and the rest of the world.
The NIF explained: “Fans are not deterred from violating Israel’s laws against racist chanting, largely because these laws were not enforced.”
Then along came a fixture in Amsterdam. (more...)
Canadian Billionaire Owns Israeli Team With Among ‘Most Racist’ Fans
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