Dozens of Raków fans launched an ambush Thursday night against the bus transporting Maccabi Haifa fans, which was traveling from Debrecen to Budapest. A vehicle carrying the Polish supporters forced the bus with Haifa fans to pull over to the roadside, then the Polish supporters emerged and assaulted its passengers.
Massive panic erupted at the location, and according to witness accounts, "There was tremendous fear; they had a murderous look." Only after extended minutes of tension and terror, the bus succeeded in continuing its journey to Budapest, from where Haifa's supporters were scheduled to depart Friday morning back to Israel.
Video: Israeli Maccabi Haifa fans attacked in Budapest. Credit: Usage under Israel's Intellectual Property Law Article 27(a)
Maccabi Haifa's management received updates about the severe incident and are currently deliberating their next steps. One passenger who was aboard the transport explained, "This represents an antisemitic incident by any measure. Both during the initial match in Poland and the return game in Hungary they conducted themselves in this manner and chanted against Jews. Regrettably, across all of Europe this remains the situation. Only through divine intervention did no one suffer severe consequences from this attack."
According to this same supporter, no police officers were present to safeguard Haifa fans, because the incident unfolded outside the stadium perimeter in Debrecen – where security measures and crowd separation were indeed implemented.
Against the backdrop of rising antisemitism worldwide, this incident adds to additional attacks against Israelis attending soccer matches abroad. In November, during the match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv, a pogrom was carried out against Israeli fans in Amsterdam that led to the injury of dozens. According to an Israeli investigation, the central organization behind the attack had connections to Hamas.
