Kick it Out Complaint Leads to Charges Against Racist Fans

Maccabi Tel Aviv will face charges by the Israel Football Association (IFA) after their fans repeatedly chanted “Salim Tuama is a Terrorist” during a recent game with Hapoel Haifa. This follows an official complaint made by NIF’s Kick It Out programme, which promotes shared society and combats racism. Salim Tuama is an Israeli-Arab player who used to play for Maccabi’s bitter rivals, Hapoel Tel Aviv. The chants have been heard for years at Maccabi matches; Kick it Out lodged a complaint with Channel 1 for not drawing more attention to the issue.

The complaint read as follows: “During the broadcast of yesterday’s match on Channel 1, the frequent racist chants of Maccabi Tel Aviv fans were clearly heard. The main chant was “Salim Tuama is a Terrorist”. I was shocked that these chants could be heard so clearly and were completely ignored by the commentators.”

As we go to press, Kick it Out is waiting to hear the outcome of the tribunal.

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December 2014