In football, supporters tend to bring banners and other supportive gear/objects to symbolise their backing for the team they are supporting in the match. Usually, supporters won't do anything in favour of the opposition. They tend to stay out of trouble.
That wasn't displayed in a recent European qualifying match between Israeli side, Maccabi Haifi and Polish side, Raków Częstochowa.
Polish president, Karol Nawrocki, has denounced a "scandalous" banner displayed by a group of Israeli football fans at a UEFA Conference League qualifying match on Thursday.
Supporters of Israeli club, Maccabi Haifa, held a large banner reading, "murderers since 1939" close to the front of the stands and across a row of seats during the match against Raków Częstochowa in Debrecen, Hungary – an apparent reference to the Holocaust and the crimes committed by Nazi Germany.
On Friday, European football governing body, UEFA, announced that disciplinary proceedings have been instigated against Maccabi Haifa for, "transmitting a message not fit for (a) sports event."
Germany invaded Poland in 1939, with more than three million Polish Jews and 1.9 million non-Jewish citizens killed during the Holocaust. Poland was the center of Ashkenazi Jewry before the Holocaust but by the end of World War II, just 10% of the community remained.
Considerable research by historians has found that some Polish individuals and groups did collaborate with the Nazi occupiers.
"Individual Poles often helped in the identification, denunciation, and hunting down of Jews in hiding, often profiting from the associated blackmail, and actively participated in the plunder of Jewish property," according to the US Holocaust Memorial Museum.
However, recent Polish governments have sought to challenge that narrative of collaboration and in 2018 passed a law making it illegal to accuse Poland of complicity in crimes committed by Nazi Germany, including the Holocaust.
"The scandalous banner displayed by fans of Maccabi Haifa insults the memory of Polish citizens – victims of World War Two, including 3 million Jews," Nawrocki said in a post on X. “Stupidity that no words can justify."
Meanwhile, Poland’s interior minister, Marcin Kierwiński, said on X that, "anti-Polonism and the outrageous distortion of Polish history by Israeli hooligans require strong condemnation. There is no, and will never be, agreement to such shameful practices."
The Israeli Embassy in Warsaw also criticised the banner, photos of which have been widely shared on social media, describing it as, "disgusting behaviour."
"There is no place for such words and actions, from any side, neither at the stadium nor anywhere else. Never!" it said on X. "These shameful incidents do not reflect the spirit of the majority of Israeli fans."
Cezary Kulesza, the president of the Polish Football Association, previously called on UEFA to take disciplinary action following the "scandalous banner and outrageous behaviour," adding in a post on X: "There’s no consensus for provocations and falsifying history."
UEFA could severely punish Maccabi Haifa after a "scandalous" banner in a Conference League match
Maccabi Haifa risk receiving a sanction from UEFA following the actions of their fans, who displayed an offensive banner during the Conference League clash against Rakow Czestochowa.
Following the match, a group of Raków Częstochowa fans threw stones at an Israeli fan bus, in an incident caught on video.
Israeli football fans held up a banner reading "Murderers since 1939" during a match against a Polish team on Thursday night, leading Polish fans to attack an Israeli fan bus following the game. Both Poland and the Israeli embassy in the country condemned the banner.
The "Murderers since 1939" banner was displayed prominently across a row of seats by fans of Israeli club Maccabi Haifa during their Europa Conference League match against Raków Częstochowa, which was played in Debrecen, Hungary, for security reasons.
There were no reports of injuries as a result of the violence.
According to Channel 13, the banner displayed by Maccabi Haifa fans was a response to the banner held up by Polish football fans at a match the previous week, which read, "Israel is murdering and the world is silent," in reference to the war in Gaza.
UEFA rules prohibit political, ideological and religious messages from being displayed in stadiums before, during or after matches.
Israel’s Channel 12 news reported on Thursday that Israel was aware of the plan to display the banner at the game and was working behind the scenes to try to block it. In the end, a compromise was reached to display the banner without calling out Israel by name.
During the same match, two refugee children from Gaza were honoured during a medal ceremony that included nine children who are refugees from conflict zones, including Afghanistan, Iraq, Nigeria and Ukraine.
The Ynet news site reported on Friday that Israeli officials are growing increasingly worried that UEFA and other international sporting bodies could exclude Israeli national and club teams from competitions, as was the case with Russia after its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
In a recent interview, UEFA Chairman, Aleksander Čeferin, was asked by a Slovenian news outlet whether he had considered banning Israel from competition, to which he responded that it was, "a legitimate question." However, Čeferin insisted that, "in principle, I’m not in favour of not allowing athletes to compete in competitions."
"In the case of Russia, we see that athletes haven’t competed for three and a half years and the war is even worse than it was. I know that many are opponents of the regime, but they still can’t play. In principle, I’m against denying athletes the right to compete," he said.
As for whether he has immediate plans to exclude Israel from competition, he said: "Right now, they are not being expelled; it is our decision. It is very difficult for me to comment on what could happen in the future."
Fallout from the Maccabi Haifa vs. Rakow Czestochowa game last Thursday in UEFA's Conference League adds to current scrutiny around non-sporting issues being aired at international soccer.
UEFA said on Friday both clubs have been charged with "transmitting a message not fit for a sports event" in a case that will be judged by its disciplinary panel.
No timetable was given for imposing sanctions which could be fines and closing part of a stadium at a future game. Rakow won 2-0 Thursday and eliminated Maccabi Haifa 2-1 on aggregate score.
The Polish government's foreign ministry said on Friday it had spoken with Israel's ambassador to the country, Yaakov Finkelstein.
"He expressed his utmost outrage at the scandalous content of a banner displayed by the Israeli fans and thanked for its firm condemnation by the embassy," the Polish ministry said in a statement.
Poland's ambassador in Israel also was set to discuss the incident with Israel's government, the ministry said, adding: "Polish-Israeli relations must not, and will not, be undermined by extremists."
UEFA does not allow overt political messaging by fans or clubs in stadiums at European competition games it organizes but was itself criticized this week.
On Wednesday, UEFA displayed the message "Stop Killing Children. Stop Killing Civilians" on the field before its showpiece Super Cup game between the Champions League title holder, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Europa League winner, Tottenham, played at Udine, Italy.
UEFA said it was part of a campaign with its charitable foundation that has projects helping children affected by conflicts also in Afghanistan, Lebanon, Sudan, Syria, Yemen and Ukraine. When the PSG and Tottenham players were presented with their medals, the post-game ceremony involved two Palestinian children who are refugees in Italy from Gaza.
At the Champions League final played in Munich in May, PSG fans displayed a banner, "Stop Genocide in Gaza" in English. UEFA did not punish the Qatari-owned French club for the display.
Even though Maccabi has been eliminated, they risk penalties from UEFA, based on previous precedents:
Barcelona were punished for a Nazi-inspired banner during a Champions League match against French club, AS Monaco. The club was fined €10 000 and banned them from selling tickets for their away match against Serbian club, Red Star Belgrade, in addition to a one-year suspension.
Scottish side, Rangers, were fined €30 000 after their fans displayed a discriminatory banner during a Europa League match against Turkish club, Fenerbahce.
So, Maccabi Haifa could face fines or other disciplinary measures from UEFA, based on the precedents of other European clubs.
Raków Częstochowa won the match 2-0 to reach the playoff round of qualification for this year’s Conference League after overcoming a 1-0 deficit from the first leg. The club will now face Bulgarian side Arda Kardzhali on 21 August.
I found the banner to be ironic because I thought and still believe that Poland and Israel were on the same page in terms of World War II. As a result, I was shocked by the actions. I thought that Poland and Israel were united.
While I do believe that Israel shouldn't be banned, they are playing with fire. They shouldn't do anything further or face various sporting consequences.
To be honest, I have zero interest in politics. It bores me.