A security effort of this scale has never been undertaken for a SC Freiburg game before. The Freiburg police describe it as their largest deployment since Pope Benedict XVI visited the city in 2011.
On Thursday evening the footballers of Maccabi Tel Aviv will be guests. Sportingly, the match is of interest only to the host. The Israelis currently occupy the penultimate place in the Europa League.
“There are currently no concrete danger findings,” says police press spokesman Michael Schorr. “Nevertheless, we take into account the fairly high abstract danger level.” He refers to UEFA’s classification of the match 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 occurred in December in Sydney, Australia, when 15 people were shot during the Jewish Hanukkah festival.
Police Drones in Operation
The deployment is substantial. About 2,000 police officers are expected to be deployed in the city. There is an extensive airspace protection concept, in which, besides a no-fly zone, the use of a drone defense system and the deployment of police drones are regulated.
On the Platz der Alten Synagoge, which was set on fire in 1938 during Reichspogromnacht, Freiburg’s Solidarity with Palestine alliance will demonstrate against this match two hours before kickoff. In a petition that had already been posted online last year, this group called for the exclusion of Maccabi fans. This was justified by the crimes of the Israeli government in Gaza, and attention was also drawn to the right-wing extremist ultras among Maccabi fans.
Since November 2024, when heavy clashes occurred in Amsterdam on the sidelines of the match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv, European football has been especially alarmed. Pro-Palestinian violent actors in the city had attacked Israeli fans. They had previously arranged online for the “hunt for Jews.” But some Maccabi fans were also violent. They rioted, shouted anti-Arab slogans, and tore Palestinian flags from walls.
For the match against Aston Villa in Birmingham, the local police president advocated the exclusion of Maccabi fans and reinforced this recommendation, as was revealed last week, among other things with an AI-driven investigation that reported rioting during a visit by Maccabi Tel Aviv to England, which in reality never took place. In the meantime, the police president has resigned.
After the Maccabi Tel Aviv game in Stuttgart in early December, which took place under similarly massive security measures as Freiburg’s game, the Stuttgart public prosecutor’s office is still examining whether to initiate investigations against Maccabi fans who are said to have chanted racist, anti-Arab slogans. The duration of the review is not unusual, according to Stuttgart. The chants in another language still need to be translated. UEFA thus sanctioned the club with a fine in mid-December.
In particular, the ultra group Fanatics is known for its right-wing extremist positions within Maccabi Tel Aviv. According to Freiburg police spokesperson Michael Schorr, these supporters and the threat that could emanate from them do not classify among the biggest topics ahead of the match. “It is currently not certain whether this group will even come to Freiburg.” For the visiting block, only slightly over 100 tickets were sold, according to information from SC Freiburg.
The active Freiburg supporter scene has already announced its non-attendance at the match because of the extreme security measures and the accompanying restrictions on freedom. In a statement, they object to any possible instrumentalization of the decision by a political camp: “We stand ready to oppose at all times any form of discrimination, exclusion, and dehumanizing statements and practices, regardless of ideological origin….”
SC Freiburg had already rejected excluding Maccabi fans months ago with the line: “Football should always unite, never divide.” For Thursday’s match, this remains a devout wish.
