Wiesenthal Centre Had Warned of Possible Antisemitism at Football Match Paris-Saint-Germain (PSG) vs. Maccabi Haifa

October 25, 2022

Paris – Last 14 September, Paris Saint Germain was hosted by Maccabi Haifa in the Sammy Ofer Stadium. Today, 25 October, the return match was held in the Parc-des-Princes Paris Stadium.

Posters had appeared with the wording: "PSG match against Maccabi Haifa in Champions League next 25 October at Parc des Princes... #SPORTWASHING... Israeli Apartheid Is No Magic! BDS (Boycott Israel)"

One thousand police and Gendarmes were posted expecting a 3 to 5 "high risk" for Israeli and Jewish fans – from experience of previous sport events – calling for vigilance and police protection.

The PSG "right wing pro 'Palestine' Ultras", decided to boycott the event as BDSers, boycotting Israel was a flop.

The 1'650 Israelis were exuberant and even losing with 9 goals, it was compensated by being with Messi, Neymar and MBappe.

Vigilance will still be required until their departure.

The Simon Wiesenthal Centre Director for International Relations, Shimon Samuels stated: "we will watch for anti-Semitism not only on the football pitch, but across France."

For further information contact Dr. Shimon Samuels at csweurope@gmail.com, join the Center on Facebook, or follow @simonwiesenthal for news updates sent directly to your Twitter feed.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest international Jewish human rights organizations with over 400,000 member families in the United States. It is an NGO at international agencies including the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the OAS, the Council of Europe and the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino).