Israeli club Maccabi Haifa’s UEFA Champions League qualifier stopped amid fan violence, pro-Palestinian chanting

11.07.2023 - 21:25 arabnews.com

LONDON: A UEFA Champions League qualifier between Hamrun Spartans of Malta and Maccabi Haifa of Israel in Ta’ Qali had to be stopped on Tuesday after rival supporters clashed amid chants of support for Palestine from the home fans.

Video footage posted to social media by user Andrew Dempsey from the Centenary Stadium purpotedly showed Hamrun fans chanting “Palestina, Palestina” during ugly scenes in the stands.

Apologies for the poor footage - but there's the home fans singing in support of Palestine as I was leaving pic.twitter.com/BXrAEt5iVA — Andrew Dempsey (@AndrewDempsey98) July 11, 2023 According to witnesses in the stadium, flares had been thrown by the away supporters earlier in the match toward a section of the ground containing families, while home fans threw projectiles back at the Haifa section.

The Israeli side had gone into a 2-0 lead in the First Round Qualifying first leg match in Malta when the referee brought a halt to proceedings in the 55th minute.

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