Such security efforts have never been made for a SC Freiburg game. The Freiburg police speak of their biggest operation since the visit of Pope Benedict XVI. in the city in 2011.
The Maccabi Tel Aviv footballers are guests on Thursday evening. From a sporting point of view, the game is only of importance to the host. The Israelis are in second-to-last place in the Europa League.
“There are currently no concrete findings of danger,” says police press spokesman Michael Schorr. “Nevertheless, we take into account the very high abstract risk situation.” He refers to UEFA’s classification of the game as a “high-risk game”. And Schorr speaks of the “high potential for emotionalization and mobilization associated with the Middle East conflict.”
Another concern is the threat of terrorism. Schorr mentions the anti-Semitic attack that took place in Sydney, Australia in December, when 15 people were shot at the Jewish festival of lights, Hanukkah.
Police drones in action
The line-up is considerable. Around 2,000 police officers will be deployed in the city. There is a comprehensive airspace protection concept, which regulates the use of a drone defense system and the use of police drones in addition to a no-fly zone.
On the square of the Old Synagogue, which was set on fire during Kristallnacht in 1938, the Freiburg Alliance will demonstrate solidarity with Palestine against this game two hours before the game begins. In a petition that was posted online last year, this group called for the exclusion of Maccabi fans. This was justified by the Israeli government’s crimes in Gaza and the right-wing extremist ultras among Maccabi fans were also pointed out.
Since November 2024, when there were serious riots in Amsterdam on the sidelines of the game between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv, European football has been particularly alarmed. Pro-Palestinian violent criminals in the city attacked Israeli fans. They had previously agreed on the Internet to “hunt Jews”. But some Maccabi fans were also violent. They rioted, shouted anti-Arab slogans and tore Palestinian flags from the walls of houses.
For the game at Aston Villa in Birmingham, the police chief there advocated the exclusion of Maccabi fans and, as it became known last week, supported this recommendation, among other things, with AI research that reported unrest at a Maccabi Tel Aviv guest game in England, which in reality never took place. The police chief has since resigned.
After the Maccabi Tel Aviv game in Stuttgart at the beginning of December, which took place under similarly massive security conditions as in Freiburg, the Stuttgart public prosecutor’s office is still examining whether it should initiate investigations against Maccabi fans who are said to have chanted racist, anti-Arab insults. The duration of the test is not unusual, according to Stuttgart. The songs in other languages still need to be translated. UEFA therefore sanctioned the club with a fine in mid-December.
The ultra-group Fanatics in particular is known for its right-wing extremist positions in Maccabi Tel Aviv. According to Freiburg police spokesman Michael Schorr, these supporters and the threat they could pose are not the biggest issues in the run-up to the game. “It is currently not certain whether this group will even come to Freiburg.” According to information from SC Freiburg, only just over 100 tickets were sold for the guest block.
The active Freiburg fan scene has already announced that they will be staying away from the game due to the extreme security measures and the associated restrictions on freedom. A statement against any possible instrumentalization of the decision by a political camp states: “We stand for resolutely opposing any form of discrimination, exclusion and inhumane statements and practices at all times, regardless of their ideological origin…”
SC Freiburg had rejected the exclusion of Maccabi fans a few months ago with the sentence: “Football should always unite, never divide.” This remains a pious wish for the game on Thursday.