Union Berlin beat Maccabi Haifa 3-0 in their first UEFA Conference League home game of the 2021/22 season. However, it was the events in the stands which took center stage rather than those on the pitch.
A group of people holding Israeli flags in close proximity to the away section said they had experienced antisemitic abuse from some Union Berlin fans.
According to the group, members of the youth branch (Junges Forum) of the German-Israeli Society (Deutsch-Israelische Gesellschaft), or JuFo DIG, they were called “f****** Jews” and had beer thrown at them, while police stopped another fan from burning an Israeli flag.
The FARE network, which campaigns against racism and discrimination in European football, also reported at least one incident of an Union Berlin fan performing a Nazi salute in the direction of the away end.
Union Berlin asked supporters to provide details of the block and seat numbers of those responsible via their Twitter account.
The DIG is a Germany-wide organization which supports the state of Israel and campaigns against antisemitism. DIG members come from across German society and from all parts of the political spectrum. Most DIG members are neither Jewish nor Israeli.
“There were also Union Berlin fans who spoke out against this behavior,” JuFo tweeted.
The group were then moved into the neighboring away section with the rest of the traveling Maccabi Haifa supporters.
Historical context
The incidents have been widely reported in Germany, with several media outlets highlighting the unique historical context of the game: it was the first time than an Israeli team had played at Berlin’s Olympiastadion, which was built by the Nazis to host the infamous 1936 Olympic Games.
Union are playing their European fixtures at the Olympiastadion, usually home to local rivals Hertha Berlin, because their own Stadion an der Alten Försterei doesn’t fulfill UEFA requirements.
Earlier, Maccabi Haifa officials had laid a wreath at the Holocaust Memorial in the center of Berlin. The club later tweeted to thank Union for the hospitality, saying: “It was an exciting game in front of your fans and ours, in a stadium which has its meaning.”
Most media outlets in Israel, however, have focused on the atmosphere at the stadium and on Maccabi Haifa’s performance on the pitch.
One report does mention the incident and the historical context. “At the end of the day, a game which was supposed to serve as an event of historical reconciliation, turned into a show of hate,” wrote Walla, one of Israel’s biggest media outlets.
Israeli fan culture in Germany
While the events unfurled in the block next to the away end, the atmosphere among the travelling Maccabi Haifa fans couldn’t have been more different.
The game started with a choreography prepared by the Israeli ultras, with the away end filled with white smoke as soon as the game kicked off.
The travelling support were in full voice, singing about “90 minutes of green and white hell” and making a good representation of Israeli fan culture against Union Berlin, a club which takes pride in its organized fan and ultra groups.
The contrast between the atmosphere in the away end and the reported antisemitic incidents which took place in the Union stand where Israeli flags were shown, reflects a sentiment shared by many German Jews and Israelis living in Germany: that a feeling of security and safety is only there once they’re among their own.
Germany saw a spike in anti-Semitic criminality in 2020.
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