UEFA Launches Disciplinary Proceedings Against Maccabi Haifa After Fans Display Anti-Polish Banner

Europe’s governing body of soccer UEFA announced on Friday the launch of disciplinary proceedings against Maccabi Haifa after fans of the Israeli team displayed an anti-Polish banner at a UEFA Conference League qualifying match against Poland’s Raków Częstochowa.

Maccabi Haifa is being charged with “transmitting a message not fit for (a) sports event” and “improper conduct.” Meanwhile, Raków Częstochowa is being charged with the lighting of fireworks and also displaying a message “not fit for [a] sports event.” The UEFA said its disciplinary bodies “will decide on the matter in due course.”

During Thursday’s match, which was played at the Nagyerdei Stadion in Debrecen, Hungary, for security reasons, some fans of Maccabi Haifa in the stands held a large banner that said in English “Murderers since 1939,” seemingly referencing the Holocaust and the atrocities committed in Nazi-occupied Poland. Germany invaded Poland in 1939, and more than 3 million Polish Jews were subsequently killed during the Holocaust, as well as 3 million non-Jewish citizens.

A week earlier, during a match on Aug. 7 between Maccabi Haifa and Rakow Częstochowa in Czestochowa, Poland, fans of the latter team displayed a banner that said in Polish: “Israel Murders and the World Is Silent.”

Poland’s Sports Minister Jakub Rutnicki sent a letter to the UEFA requesting “the imposition of severe penalties” against Maccabi Haifa following Thursday’s incident, and Cezary Kulesza, the president of the Polish Football Association, called on UEFA to penalize the Israeli team because of the “scandalous banner and outrageous behavior.”

“There’s no consensus for provocations and falsifying history,” Kulesza said. Polish government spokesperson Adam Szłapka noted that Poland expects “a clear reaction from UEFA.”

The “scandalous” banner “insults the memory of Polish citizens – victims of World War Two, including 3 million Jews,” Polish President Karol Nawrocki wrote in a post on X. “Stupidity that no words can justify.”

Deputy Prime Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski called the actions “a distortion of history” and the Israeli Embassy in Warsaw condemned the “disgusting behavior” displayed by Maccabi Haifa fans. “There is no place for such words and actions, from any side, neither at the stadium nor anywhere else. Never!” the embassy said in a post on X. “These shameful incidents do not reflect the spirit of the majority of Israeli fans.”

Poland’s Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński said, “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.”

Raków Częstochowa won Thursday’s match 2-0 and advanced to the playoff round of qualification for the 2025 UEFA Conference League. They will face Bulgaria’s Arda Kardzhali on Aug. 21.

Also on Thursday, the UEFA was criticized for preventing the family of Hamas hostage and Israeli teenager Rom Braslavski from displaying signs calling for his release at Beitar Jerusalem’s match against Riga in a Conference League qualifier in Bucharest, Romania. The banners featured Braslavski’s photo and the messages, “I am asking for my brother,” “Bring back Rom,” and “The voice of my brother’s blood is calling to me from the tunnels – Bring Rom and the rest of our hostages home,” according to Ynet.

The incident happened after UEFA invited two children from the Gaza Strip to participate in the medal ceremony at the UEFA Super Cup final in Udine, Italy, and had several refugee children display a banner that read: “Stop killing children – Stop killing civilians.”