Israeli football fans held up a banner reading “Murderers since 1939” during a match against a Polish team on Thursday, causing outrage in Poland as the president said it insulted the memory of Poles, including Jews, killed in World War Two.
The banner was displayed prominently across a row of seats by fans of Israeli club Maccabi Haifa during a Europa Conference League match against Rakow Czestochowa, which was played in Debrecen in Hungary for security reasons.
“The scandalous banner displayed by Maccabi Haifa fans insults the memory of Polish citizens – victims of World War Two, including 3 million Jews,” Polish President Karol Nawrocki, a former head of the country’s Institute of National Remembrance, wrote on X. “Stupidity that no words can justify.”
Polish Interior Minister Marcin Kierwinski said “Anti-Polonism and the scandalous distortion of Polish history by Israeli hooligans demand strong condemnation”.
The Israeli Embassy in Warsaw also condemned the banner.
“There is no place for such words and actions, from any side, neither at the stadium nor anywhere else. Never!” the embassy wrote on X. “These shameful incidents do not reflect the spirit of the majority of Israeli fans.”
Rakow Czestochowa won the game 2-0, giving it a 2-1 victory on aggregate.
Content Source: sportstar.thehindu.com