'Discrimination': AFA slams 'anti-Semitic acts' by fans of All Boys football team

The Argentine Football Association (AFA) has condemned the "anti-Semitic acts" by fans of the second division All Boys club during a match against Atlanta over the weekend.

In videos posted on social media, several people were seen carrying a coffin draped in the Israeli flag before Sunday's Primera Nacional Zona A league match at the Estadio Islas Malvinas between All Boys, which is based in Floresta, and Atlanta, located in Villa Crespo, a largely Jewish neighbourhood of the capital.

The coffin appears painted in the colours of Atlanta. Several people in the video are seen waving Iranian and Palestinian flags.

During the match itself, which ended in a 0-0 draw, a drone bearing a Palestinian flag flew over the stadium and some fans of the All Boys home team chanted anti-Israel slogans.

Outside the venue, pamphlets reading "Clear off to Israel" were distributed and a banner reading "Death to the genocidal state of Israel" was displayed.

AFA, Argentine football's governing body, in a statement expressed "its total and absolute repudiation of the abhorrent acts of anti-Semitism carried out by fans of All Boys yesterday, both before and during the match between the club and Atlanta." 

It called on "the football community as a whole to eradicate this type of behaviour once and for all."

The association added that it had filed a formal complaint with its disciplinary court.

The National Security Ministry, meanwhile, said it had filed a criminal complaint, pointing to "demonstrations of violence, expressions of racial and religious hatred, and public intimidation."

The Argentine Delegation of Jewish Associations (DAIA) condemned the incidents and demanded that “the relevant authorities, the AFA, and the All Boys Club act firmly against these acts of hatred.”

On Tuesday, AFA confirmed that All Boys would be forced to play their next two home matches behind closed doors, without spectators. In addition, in the following six home matches, club authorities will not be allowed to admit any fan carrying flags, banners or musical instruments.

The punishment is part of “the organiser’s responsibility to ensure the peace development of sporting events,” said AFA’s disciplinary committee.

– TIMES/AFP/NA