Banner calling for prisoners' release sparks controversy at U21 match

The world's attention was captured by an incident during a match between the youth teams of Germany and Israel in Halle. The organizers decided to remove a banner displayed by Israeli fans, which called for the release of prisoners held by Hamas.

On Tuesday (03/26), the youth teams of Germany and Israel competed in a Euro U21 qualifying match. The hosts easily won, defeating their opponents 2:0.

The match might have gone unnoticed if not for a controversy surrounding a pro-Israeli banner. Israeli fans, alongside their national flag, displayed a banner with the plea "release them home" and attached pictures of several individuals to the barriers.

The banner was referencing events from October 7th of the previous year. On that day, the fundamentalist group Hamas attacked Israeli territory and abducted about 130 citizens. These individuals are still being held captive.

Reports from "Mitteldeutsche Zeitung" indicate that the banner faced hostility from German fans. Boos emanated from various sections of the stadium, with some even throwing plastic cups towards the Israeli supporters.

The banner's display also elicited a response from the match organizers. The stadium's security services instructed the Israeli fans to remove the banner. Initially, the fans complied, but they displayed the banner again towards the match's end, prompting security to intervene and confiscate it.

After the game, the German Football Association (DFB) provided a rationale for the security services’ strict response to a banner that essentially bore a message of peace. Their explanation mentioned UEFA guidelines and also cited the hostile reaction from other fans.

"During UEFA matches, displaying banners with political messages is prohibited. Furthermore, the banner wasn't registered beforehand. When the banner was displayed again towards the match's end, law enforcement stepped in to mitigate the situation and removed it," stated the DFB.