Maccabi Tel Aviv, Maccabi Haifa and Italy’s Lazio soccer teams forge partnership to fight discrimination

Italian Serie A club Lazio and Israel’s top flight Maccabi Haifa and Maccabi Tel Aviv have forged a partnership for projects against discrimination, a joint statement says.

The announcement comes after a meeting between club representatives in Israel, which marks the beginning of a cooperation to develop “synergies in football” while “promoting values of integration and social inclusion.”

“The collaboration will focus on awareness projects and the fight against all forms of discrimination,” the statement says.

“We wish all sides the best of luck in such an important relationship between the clubs and between Israel and Italy,” says Lion Cohen, vice CEO and director of football at Maccabi Israel, which includes the two clubs of Tel Aviv and Haifa.

Instances of racism and antisemitism are commonplace in Italian stadiums, with fans regularly booing or shouting abuse at Black players, using the word “Jew” as an insult and displaying Nazi or fascist symbols.

Lazio, which along with city rivals AS Roma are the main soccer teams in the Italian capital, has been struggling for years to crack down on far-right fans chanting racist and fascist slogans.

“We will soon draft a Memorandum to create technical synergies in football and promote cultural exchange, launching an awareness campaign against hatred and racial discrimination,” says Lazio chairman Claudio Lotito, who is also a senator with the co-ruling center-right Forza Italia party.