Haifa fans are also barred from wearing team shirts or displaying any items that bear the team logo, according to reports.
By United With Israel Staff
Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz says that he has instructed the Israeli embassy in Paris to act toward rescinding a directive from Strasbourg police that restricts the number of Maccabi Haifa soccer fans at a match on Thursday night and bars fans from waving Israeli flags.
Saying that he was acting at the request of Sports Minister Miri Regev, Katz tweeted: “I expect to see many fans, flags, and goals.”
Haifa fans are also barred from wearing team shirts or displaying any items that bear the team logo, according to reports.
Haifa is scheduled to play RC Strasbourg Alsace in a Europa League match. However, tensions are high.
Three Maccabi Haifa fans were attacked by local residents late Wednesday night, reports Israel Hayom, adding that the three escaped without injury.
“We went out in the evening to eat without any Maccabi Haifa paraphernalia,” Ayalon, one of the three Israelis, told the newspaper.
Israelis Attacked, Fear Leaving Hotel
“All of a sudden, we saw five or six people standing and listening to us. They came up to us, asked for passports and for us to show them our phones so they could see our Facebook and Instagram,” he added, saying that at this point, the assailants “shouted that we were Maccabi Haifa [fans]. We told them we were just tourists, but really quickly they started slapping us, throwing chairs and hitting, and punching us in the face.
“We got in touch with the team. The security officer recommended that we file a complaint and took our names,” Ayalon said, adding that he and his friends are “afraid to leave the hotel” because the attackers know where they are.
He warns Israeli fans who are in Strasbourg for the match to “take the police warnings seriously,” Israel Hayom reported.
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