Ittihad Bnei Sakhnin match cancelled after racist attack on fans and players’ refusal to start match

Bethlehem Ma'an - On Sunday evening, before the start of the match, Hapoel Be'er Sheva fans attacked the Ittihad Bnei Sakhnin fans, claiming that they "disturbed" the Israeli national anthem. Dozens of Israeli fans rushed onto the pitch towards the Ittihad fans with sharp objects and clubs, with the aim of attacking them. The police stormed the pitch to separate the attackers from the Ittihad Bnei Sakhnin fans. The players of the Bnei Sakhnin club refused to start the match in protest against the attack carried out by the fans of the Hapoel Be'er Sheva team. The Israeli team's fans chanted racist slogans such as "Death to Arabs", "Give the army a chance to win", and other racist and insulting slogans such as "May your villages burn". Ten participants in the attack were arrested. Reports did not mention whether the detainees also included fans of the Bnei Sakhnin club. Following this attack, the head of the Ittihad team, Mohammed Abu Younis, ordered the players and the team's staff to go down from the fie ld to the locker room, and the team did not participate in the game, which prompted the referee to take the decision to cancel the match and refer the matter to the General Football Association Court. Source: Maan News Agency