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.

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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.”