Prior to this evening’s match (Sunday 21:00) between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Maccabi Haifa, the Club’s Legal Advisor, Adv. Moran Meiri issued an urgent letter to the Minister of Public Security, Mr. Gilad Erdan. The letter requested that the Minister intervene in the matter of security arrangements for the match and rescind the police ban on the Tifo, Choreography Display which the fans have worked on in preparation for the contest.
This is the text of the letter sent to the Minister of Public Security:
Honorable Minister of Public Security, Mr. Gilad Erdan
Re: Urgent request regarding the match between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Maccabi Haifa
I am writing to you on behalf of my client Maccabi Tel Aviv Ltd. regarding an arbitrary decision, without factual and legal basis, by the police, in connection with the football match that will take place tonight between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Maccabi Haifa:
1. I am turning to you after my client made every possible effort to convince the relevant police department to reduce the number of officers who will be paid by my client for this evening’s match, as well as to allow flags into the stadium that our club’s fans have worked on over the past few days.
2. The police’s decision to require the club to pay the salaries of roughly 270 police officers will cause significant financial losses to my client. Despite the disproportionate and unprecedented amount of officers that also does not meet the agreed upon amount by the leagues and the police in regard to the number of police officers and the financial implications that will be absorbed by the club, the police made an arbitrary and insensitive decision that doesn’t allow the club’s fans to enter the stadium with Tifo Choreography Display which they have worked on in preparation for the contest. This behavior may lead to the exact opposite result and increase the motivation of rioters while at the same time weaken the dialogue with the club’s management. This was explicitly stated to the relevant officers, but until recently the latter had not responded to the request of the club’s management to allow the Tifo Choreography Display, the only reason being that it was an unprecedented precedent with no basis.
3. In reference to the above, I ask that you allow the Tifo Choreography Display that the fans of the club worked on. I would be happy to give you further details about the sequence of events by telephone.
Sincerely,
Adv. Moran Meiri
