Racist chants on the rise at Israeli football matches

LONDON: Racist chanting by football fans in Israel has increased significantly, according to research conducted by an anti-racism group.

Kick It Out Israel, backed by civil society group Givat Haviva — which works toward a “shared society for Jews and Arabs” — singled out fans of Maccabi Tel Aviv in particular for their behavior.

In all, 367 instances of racist chanting were identified at Israeli Premier League matches in the 2024-25 season, a 67 percent increase on the previous year.

Maccabi fans were responsible for 118 of those incidents, most notably for repeated use of the chant “Let the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) win, f— the Arabs.”

The chant caused international controversy when sung by Maccabi fans during a game marred by violence against Dutch club Ajax in 2024, which saw 60 people arrested.

Fans of Beitar Jerusalem were responsible for the second-highest number of racist chants, with 115 incidents highlighted.

The behavior of Maccabi fans during the Ajax fixture was at the heart of a recent decision to ban them from traveling to the English city of Birmingham for a Europa league match again Aston Villa later this year.

West Midlands Police cited the prospect of “racist taunts” as a potential source of trouble in explaining their decision.

In addition to racist chanting at IPL matches, Kick It Out identified 165 violent incidents last season, including objects being thrown and pitch invasions.

Matan Segal, director of Kick It Out Israel, said the IPL season would “be remembered not for the football itself but for a series of troubling events that should concern every citizen in Israel,” and that there was an “absence of a serious and effective effort to combat these phenomena.”

Piara Powar, executive