The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) has imposed a €20,000 fine on Israeli football club Maccabi Tel Aviv and prohibited the club’s fans from attending the next away match, after the fans were seen chanting racist, anti-Arab slogans during the Europa League game at German side Stuttgart earlier this month.
Video posted to social media at the time of the match on December 11 showed Maccabi fans chanting slogans, including “There are no schools in Gaza because there are no children left” and “Death to Arabs.”
European football’s governing body confirmed its Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body (CEDB) had fined the Israeli club €20,000 in relation to their fans’ conduct at the match. The CEDB also put a ban on Maccabi from selling tickets to their fans for their next away match in a UEFA competition “for a probationary period of two years” due to their unruly behaviour.
On December 12, the German police launched an investigation into the incident. The Stuttgart police said in a statement that officers temporarily detained six Maccabi Tel Aviv fans before the match for repeatedly setting off fireworks. A young fan was also under investigation for giving a provocative Nazi salute to police officers on his way to the stadium, according to news agency Anadolu.
Police said they were investigating hateful, offensive slogans chanted by Maccabi Tel Aviv fans in close coordination with the public prosecutor’s office.
Stuttgart won the match 4-1, leaving Maccabi with only one point from six matches in the league phase of the Europa League.
History of the Maccabi FC fans
The Maccabi Tel Aviv fans are infamous for stoking violence and disruption in cities.
In November 2024, after a match between Maccabi Tel Aviv and AFC Ajax in Amsterdam, videos emerged of Maccabi fans chanting anti-Arab slogans, destroying Palestinian flags and causing other disruptions in the city, prompting some Amsterdam residents to chase and assault some of the team’s supporters.
This incident prompted Birmingham’s Safety Advisory Group to ban Maccabi fans from attending a match between the FC and Aston Villa last month.
The move was widely criticised by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, calling the decision “wrong” and “antisemitic,” even as Maccabi lost the match 2-0.
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