Maccabi Tel Aviv landed this afternoon in Israel after a night where fans were violently attacked after returning from the Europa League match against Ajax at the Johan Cruyff arena in Amsterdam.
From the early hours of Friday, the Club was in direct contact wit the Foreign Ministry, the Israeli Embassy, the Sports and Culture Ministry, the National Security Council, and the Israel Football Association. During the day, the Club was updated that all the fans who were admitted to hospital to receive treatment for their injuries, were released and that contact was established with those who were out of reach during the night.
The owner Mitch Goldhar who arrived in Amsterdam to be with the team for the match against Ajax, spent the day meeting fans at their hotels, enquiring of their condition and well-being.
Maccabi’s CEO, Ben Mansford, said after the team landed: “Obviously we are absolutely devastated. We get on that plane on Wednesday to play a game of football and the reason why you are all at the airport is not because of a game of football. Thank god we believe that all of our fans were accounted for, we think there is a strong chance that all of them have been released from hospitals. Whilst that is great news compared to the news we had at 2-3 in the morning, I will feel that everyone at Maccabi Tel Aviv joins us – when everyone who traveled to Amsterdam to watch that game is back home safe in Israel.”
“Football has been my professional career and at times, risk elements from both teams are fine with each other. This was not connected to football and that is the reason why you are all here to report. Lots of people went to watch a football game and to support Maccabi Tel Aviv, to support Israel, to support the Star of David. For them to be running into rivers, to be kicked while defenseless on the floor, to be trying to suggest and beg people to believe that they are not Jewish. This is very sad times for us all given the last year and what we have had to experience.”
On what happened on the streets of Amsterdam overnight, Mansford added: “I think we can understand that as best as we can follow all the footage. Of course, there were one or two bits outside our hotel but nothing like what our fans had to experience especially around the train center which seemed to have been the beginning and epi-center of all of it. But I think it will take us days, weeks and even longer to digest truly all the different incidents and all the lessons that could be learned.”
On the owner Mitch Goldhar, who was present in Amsterdam, Mansford added: “I don’t you know if you are all aware but Mitch Goldhar, Jack Angelides with Avi Mizrahi all stayed, went around some fans and a number of hotels where fans were present in large contingence. So, I am so fortunate we have such an incredible owner. We all know Mitch’s background; we all know how supportive he is of this country. It must be another very sad to for him, but we couldn’t have a better owner to lead from the front at these times.”
The Maccabi CEO reflected on the support the club received from the moment the incidents began unfolding: “A huge credit to the Sports Ministry and the foreign ministry, Shino Zuartez, and Moran Meiri from the IFA who at 2-3 in the morning were mobilizing as I am sure you all saw. I also feel a strong sense of solidarity not just with our fellow clubs in Israel but also as you have all seen their messages from Beitar Jerusalem to aMaccabi Haifa and the list goes on. As we landed, we also saw a sense of solidarity from clubs across Europe – I think everybody knows what happened last night and clearly some lessons need to be learned
”.
Maccabi’s captain Eran Zahavi added: “We all saw what happened. It is an absolute disgrace. But this is the world we currently live in and sadly our fans felt threatened and experienced horrors. People traveled to watch a football game, and this is what happened. The club will do everything for the fans.”
