Far-right Israeli football fans set off pyrotechnics in Latvia’s capital

Riga, Latvia – Thick achromatic fume billowed crossed Skonto Stadium arsenic fans of the Israeli shot team, Beitar Jerusalem, defied UEFA rules, mounting disconnected respective rounds of pyrotechnics.

With lone 1 infinitesimal played of the UEFA Conference League qualifier lucifer against Riga FC, Latvian fans looked bewildered arsenic a Beitar fan, wearing a achromatic balaclava, nonchalantly threw a succession of fireworks astir the stand, causing a tiny occurrence and scorching parts of the distant stand.

A banner displaying the sanction of Beitar supporters’ instrumentality club, “La Familia”, sat draped crossed the stands. The notoriously racist instrumentality club, which is known for its anti-Arab chants and convulsive behaviour, has successful the past travel up against the constabulary successful Israel.

In 2016, an undercover constabulary cognition resulted successful the apprehension of 56 fans connected suspicion of smuggling weapons and violence.

On Thursday, 1 Beitar instrumentality held up an Israeli emblem successful the location stand, garnering cheers from different Beitar fans, but aggravated stewards ushered them down the steps and into the distant stand.

The team, which successful its 89-year past has ne'er signed an Arab player, boasts right-wing Israeli curate Itamar Ben-Gvir among its supporters. It is presently playing its location matches successful Romania owed to the Israel-Palestine conflict, and travelled to Latvia conscionable weeks aft fans were filmed chanting “Death to Arabs” portion marching done the streets of Bucharest, wherever their squad bushed Sutjeska of Montenegro 5-2.

After the Riga crippled connected Thursday, the raucous fans were held wrong the stadium perimeter for astir fractional an hour. A solitary location instrumentality shouted “free Palestine” towards the absorption of the Beitar fans gathered down the gates. “F**k Palestine”, came the response.

The crippled had ended 3-0 to Riga FC, and afterwards, Beitar fans fto retired their vexation by mounting disconnected flares successful dense traffic. Amid the chaos, a fig were herded disconnected to constabulary vans by Latvian police.

An Israeli worker holds his scarf showing the colours of Beitar Jerusalem shot nine portion others clasp up an Israeli emblem portion posing for a radical photograph astatine a presumption adjacent to the borderline with the Gaza Strip successful confederate Israel connected December 14, 2023 [Jack Guez/AFP]

‘Double standards’

The chaotic, alcohol-fuelled behaviour displayed by Beitar fans whitethorn not beryllium caller to European football, but it comes amid the backdrop of Israel’s warfare connected Gaza, which has killed much than 61,000 Palestinians and led to calls from rights groups for Israeli teams to beryllium banned from European shot competitions.

The satellite shot governing body, FIFA, has repeatedly delayed its reappraisal of a Palestinian bid to person Israel suspended from the planetary arena implicit its warfare connected Gaza.

After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, it took FIFA lone a substance of days to suspend Russian teams from each planetary shot competitions.

That highlights the “double standards” shown towards Palestinian lives, Dima Said, spokesperson for the Palestine Football Association and erstwhile skipper of Palestine women’s nationalist shot team, told Al Jazeera.

She said seeing Israeli shot fans being allowed to outcry anti-Palestinian chants without punishment astir Europe is “as a Palestinian jock … 1 of the hardest things to watch”.

“For maine to spot that those radical who publically enactment genocide, who publically advocator for children to beryllium killed, is thing that’s precise harmful for maine arsenic a quality being, first, but secondly, arsenic a Palestinian, it should not beryllium allowed,” she said.

She besides pointed to the information that much than 200 Palestinian footballers person been killed since Israel’s warfare connected Gaza began.

On Wednesday, the erstwhile Palestinian nationalist shot squad player, Suleiman al-Obeid, was killed successful an Israeli onslaught connected assistance seekers successful Gaza.

Last November, Israeli shot fans clashed with evident pro-Palestinian protesters earlier and aft a Europa League shot lucifer betwixt their team, Maccabi Tel Aviv, and Dutch squad AFC Ajax successful Amsterdam.

Videos shared connected societal media astatine the clip showed Israeli fans chanting racist, anti-Arab songs, vandalising a taxi and burning a Palestinian flag.

After the game, erstwhile fights broke out, Dutch constabulary arrested radical who had retaliated against the Israeli fans, arsenic satellite leaders made accusations of anti-Semitism.

It was an incidental that Thomas Ross Griffin, a sports studies student and subordinate prof of postcolonial lit astatine Qatar University, says demonstrates the impunity with which Israeli fans tin act.

“If these were English fans rampaging done the streets, destroying taxis, breaking into property, smashing windows, beating backstage citizens … determination volition beryllium condemnation each implicit Europe, but you connect these fans to an Israeli sporting entity, and abruptly … they’re the victims,” helium said.

Beitar Jerusalem volition play their location limb against Riga FC in Romania connected August 14.