Maccabi Haifa warns fans: "It is recommended to arrive in groups of three"
This coming Sunday, Maccabi Haifa will play an away match at the Doha Stadium in Sakhnin. The club has advised fans to arrive in groups of three or more for safety reasons, sparking a public debate about security at football stadiums in Israel.
This coming Sunday, Maccabi Haifa will play an away match at the Doha Stadium in the city of Sakhnin against the municipal team. Ahead of the match, the club from the Carmel published a notice to fans stating that for safety reasons, it is recommended to arrive at the venue in groups of three or more. Fans of the green team reached out to Channel 14 news anchor Yinon Magal and wondered: "Should Jews be afraid to come to a football stadium inside Israel?"
The Bnei Sakhnin football club issued a response statement:
"Maccabi Haifa fans, like many fans of other teams, are invited to come to Doha and cheer for their team. The Bnei Sakhnin club and its fans will do everything required to foster a sports atmosphere within the complex and outside it. The history of the meetings between the two teams contains many good things and positive, sporting encouragement. We will focus on the positive and embrace it."
The notice from Maccabi Haifa was apparently issued following the events of the team's previous match in the Arab city less than a year ago, when violent clashes broke out between the fans of the competing teams while the visiting fans were in the minority. That match ended with a score of 3:3.
Beyond that, the crowd from the Arab city recorded another serious incident this year when dozens of masked fans broke into the training complex holding sticks, cursed the players and the professional staff, and attempted to reach them physically. Following these events, coach Sharon Mimer gathered his players and announced his immediate resignation:
"What happened here crossed every line."
