Soccer Fans Can Attend Games, Even if Police Don't Like What They're Wearing
- ACRI
- 5 days ago
- 1 min read
On December 8, 2025, ACRI sent an appeal to the police after fans of the soccer team Hapoel Tel Aviv were prevented from entering a stadium because of their clothing, which included an anti-police illustration and text. In the appeal, Attorney Nitsan Ilani and legal intern Yotam Rotfeld argue that the police do not have the authority to infringe fans’ freedom of expression and protest, even when fans express opinions that the police do not like. Freedom of expression and protest should not be restricted except under extreme circumstances, when there is a near certainty of serious harm to public security or public order.
Ilani and Rotfeld argue that this incident is one of a number of unlawful or illegal actions taken by the police against sports fans, including violence toward fans, the dissemination of a racist video, and the arrest of a fan who waved a shirt bearing a text and an illustration condemning police officers. As the appeal states, "Israel Police officers are not permitted to prohibit the entry of fans to the stadium due to the text or illustration on their shirt, even if it angers them or others; police officers are not permitted to violently attack fans; police officers are not permitted to act contrary to the law.”
ACRI’s appeal, December 8, 2025 (Heb)