Israeli side Hapoel Tel Aviv’s Ultras are amongst a growing number of supporters expressing their opposition to fascism and discrimination.
As in England and throughout Europe, most Israeli football teams have a hardcore element to their support base, and in recent years, clubs have been docked points for proving unable to rein in their most wayward supporters.
However, not all football firms are by definition allied to the hard right, neither are they all enslaved to racially divisive ideologies.
Hapoel Tel Aviv recently faced German club Hamburg in a Europa League fixture. An hour before kick-off, several prominent faces from the Hapoel Ultras crew braved the pouring rain to solicit contributions for a local shelter for African refugees, the African Refugee Development Centre (ARDC).
They stood in front of a huge banner which they'd tied to the stadium railings, bearing a seemingly incongruous message: "Hapoel Ultras – donation point", and as the clock ticked down to kick-off, the gifts poured in from fellow Ultras.
Collective duties
The call had gone out on Ultras message boards earlier in the week, exhorting fellow fans to bring whatever food or clothes they could to alleviate the severe shortages experienced by the refugee community over recent weeks.
This was the second time this season that the Ultras had rallied round for the refugees, and those taking part saw it as an essential part of their collective duties as Hapoel fans.
"Hapoel means workers", explained one supporter, decked out in a garish red Ultras hoodie, a scarf bearing the legend "Workers of the world unite" hanging from his neck. "We're left wing, which means we don't hate Arabs – we want peace with them".
Inside the stadium, supporters regularly hold banners declaring "Love Hapoel – hate racism", and at a recent match hoisted a particularly poignant flag asking "Who here isn't a refugee?"
Antifa
Another fan spits at the mention of APOEL Nicosia, a Cypriot team whose acronym bears no connection to the Hebrew word Hapoel. "We hate them, because they're all fascists," he tells me. "Their fans hold banners with swastikas on, and they give sieg heils at the ground. We're part of Antifa, which is why we despise them."
Antifa is a global network of militant anti-fascists to whom many left-leaning football supporters pledge allegiance, including dozens of clubs across Europe.
As a result, respective football firms forge close ties with one another, as was evidenced at Hapoel's Bloomfield stadium where Hapoel fans sported club shirts of FC St Pauli, Manchester United, and other Antifa-linked teams.
Hapoel Ultras are also part of the Alerta Network, a collection of football fans committed to fighting xenophobia on the terraces, who embody the true spirit of the Kick It Out campaign and its peers around Europe.
'Amazed'
Nic Schlagman of the ARDC, who co-ordinated the fundraising campaign with the Hapoel Ultras, was overwhelmed by the response from the fans. "We continue to be amazed by the number of people from all corners of the Tel Aviv community who come forward to support our humanitarian work," he said.
According to Antifa and Alerta, leftwing firms are on the up across Europe, and they take heart from the strong links forged between fans with every passing year.
Actions such as that of Hapoel's Ultras for the African refugees, and the constant anti-racist campaigning undertaken by teams around Europe, must be applauded and encouraged in order for those on the far right to see that their poisonous message won't go unchallenged, either on the terraces or in the streets.
Kicking racism out of football completely is a mammoth task, but it seems that the fans on the left are relishing the challenge to do just that.
Excerpt from The Guardian, to read this article in full, please click here.
