The father of one of the Makkabi youths told daily Taggespiegel that the children faced repeated insults and spitting without intervention from the referee. Players from the B-Jugend team reportedly shouted “Free Palestine” multiple times.

”These acts show that anti-Semitic violence and discrimination have not disappeared, even in our city”, said Berlin Senator for the Interior Iris Spranger during a commemration of Kristallnacht in Berlin on Saturday.

During a youth football match in Berlin, players from TuS Makkabi, a Jewish team, were reportedly assaulted and chased following a game against DJK Schwarz-Weiß Neukölln on Thursday evening.

According to a report in daily Tagesspiegel, Makkabi players were pursued by opponents and spectators wielding sticks and knives after the match.

The father of one of the Makkabi youths told the newspaper that the children faced repeated insults and spitting without intervention from the referee. Players from the B-Jugend team reportedly shouted “Free Palestine” multiple times.

The newspaper quoted a spokesperson from Schwarz-Weiß Neukölln, who said, “If it is confirmed that one of the players participated in antisemitic remarks, then it’s clear that he will no longer be part of the club this evening.” The club has a clear constitution that excludes antisemitism, and the incidents are to be investigated, he added.

Alon Meyer, President of Makkabi Deutschland, csaid that ‘’we are currently discussing our next steps.”

Berlin authorities are calling for tough penalties for those responsible for the attack against the youths. ”These acts show that anti-Semitic violence and discrimination have not disappeared, even in our city”, said Berlin Senator for the Interior Iris Spranger on Saturday.

She was speaking on the occasion of the commemoration of Kristallnacht, the pogrom led by the Nazis against Germany’s Jews on November 9, 1938.  She  warned that anyone committing such attacks should expect to face “the full force of the rule of law”.

In a related incident in the Netherlands on Thursday night, Israeli fans of Maccabi Tel Aviv were chased and brutally attacked by pro-Palestinian youths on motorbikes following an Europa League matchwith Ajax Amsterdam.

Earlier this week, during the Champions League match between Paris Saint-Germain and Atletico Madrid, a large banner reading “Free Palestine” was unfurled, featuring a map that omitted the State of Israel.