From the Liveblog of
Friday, August 15, 2025
Maccabi Haifa fans display ‘Murderers since 1939’ banner at soccer match against Polish team; Israeli fan bus attacked after game
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleIsraeli soccer fans held up a banner reading “Murderers since 1939” during a match against a Polish team last night, leading Polish fans to attack an Israeli fan bus following the game.
The “Murderers since 1939” banner was displayed prominently across a row of seats by fans of Israeli club Maccabi Haifa during their Europa Conference League match against Raków Częstochowa, which was played in Debrecen, Hungary for security reasons.
Kibice z Izraela wywiesili transparent "Mordercy od 1939 roku" podczas meczu Raków Częstochowa z Maccabi Hajfa w trzeciej rundzie eliminacji do Ligi Konferencji.
Szanowna Ambasado @IsraelinPoland czy będzie reakcja? CC: @MSZ_RP pic.twitter.com/D2QVbELOGk— August Żywczyk (@august_zywczyk) August 14, 2025
Following the match, in which Maccabi Haifa lost 2:0, a group of Raków Częstochowa fans threw stones at an Israeli fan bus, in an incident caught on video.
There are no reports of injuries as a result of the violence.
זה האוטובוס של אוהדי מכבי חיפה אחרי המשחק מול ראקוב. באמצע כביש מהיר עקפו אותם חבורה של אוהדים פולנים שעקבו אחריהם עוד מתחנת דלק בה עצרו, והתחילו לזרוק אבנים על האוטובוס ולנסות לפגוע בהם. הם הצליחו לברוח לבסוף, ובנס אף אחד לא נפגע, אבל זה אירוע קשה שהיה יכול להיגמר אחרת pic.twitter.com/Ovu2K7FUoX
— Yotam Koren (@yotam_koren) August 15, 2025
According to Channel 13, the banner displayed by Maccabi Haifa fans was a response to the banner held up by Polish soccer fans at a match the previous week, which read “Israel is murdering and the world is silent,” in reference to the war in Gaza.
The “Murderers since 1939” banner has caused outrage in Poland, with the country’s President Karol Nawrocki writing on X that the “scandalous banner…insults the memory of Polish citizens — victims of World War Two, including 3 million Jews.”
Polish Interior Minister Marcin Kierwinski says the banner was a “scandalous distortion of Polish history” on behalf of the “Israeli hooligans.”
The Israeli Embassy in Warsaw also condemns the banner, writing on X that the “shameful incidents do not reflect the spirit of the majority of Israeli fans.”
The Times of Israel Community.