UEFA opened a disciplinary matter on Friday after the fans of an Israeli club had shown a banner on Poland criticized by the Polish president and diplomats from Israel.
Fallout from the Maccabi Haifa vs. Rakow Czestochowa match Thursday in the UEFA Conference League contributes to the current control of non-sporting issues that are broadcast at International Football.
The slogan «Murderers since 1939» was shown in English by Maccabi Haifa fans during a qualifying match in the UEFA’s Conference League against the Polish team Rakow. It was quickly convicted by the President of Poland and the Israel embassy in the country.
Polish President Karol Nawrocki on X De Banner was «outrageous» and an insult to the Polish victims of the Second World War, including three million Jews.
Maccabi Haifa and Rakow played the game in Neutral Hungary – instead of Israel for security reasons – a week after the first stage in Poland. There Rakow fans showed a banner in Polish and said that Israel killed people and the world was silent.
UEFA said on Friday that both clubs are responsible for «sending a message that is not suitable for a sporting event» in a case that will be assessed by the disciplinary panel.
No timetable was given for imposing sanctions that could be fines and to close part of a stadium to a future game. Rakow won 2-0 on Thursday and eliminated Maccabi Haifa 2-1 on an aggregated score.
The foreign Ministry of the Polish government said on Friday that it had spoken with the Israeli ambassador in the country, Yaakov Finkelstein.
Read also | Five U-20 players to pay attention to the Premier League season 2025-26
«He expressed his greatest indignation about the outrageous content of a banner that was shown and thanked by the Israeli fans for his permanent conviction by the embassy,» the Polish ministry said in a statement.
The ambassador of Poland in Israel was also established to discuss the incident with the Israeli government, the ministry said, adding: «Polish-Israeli relations should not be undermined by extremists.»
UEFA does not allow open political messages by fans or clubs in stadiums in European competition competitions that it organizes, but was criticized this week.
On Wednesday UEFA showed the message «Stop killing children. Stop killing citizens» on the field before the showpiece Super Cup game between the Champion League title holder Paris Saint-Germain and Europa League winner Tottenham, played in Udine, Italy.
UEFA said that it was part of a campaign with its charity with projects that help children affected by conflicts, including in Afghanistan, Lebanon, Sudan, Syria, Yemen and Ukraine.
When the PSG and Tottenham players received their medals, after the game, the ceremony concerned two Palestinian children who are refugees in Italy from Gaza.
During the Champions League final that was played in Munich in May, PSG fans showed a banner «Stop Genocide in Gaza» in English. UEFA did not punish the French club of Qatari for the display.
