Riot and threw flares at the football game at Sami Ofer in Haifa • Indictments against fans ◄ Watch

Indictments against fans who rioted and threw flares at the football game at Sami Ofer in Haifa ◄ Watch

(haipo) – The torch throwers at the football game in Haifa were arrested and today (Sunday, 16/2/25) an indictment will be filed against them.

The police told Lai Pa:

The police investigation has concluded and an indictment will be filed today (Sunday, 16/02/25) against the three suspects in the throwing of flares during the soccer game that was stopped at the "Sammy Ofer" Stadium.

On 27/1/25, a soccer game took place at the Sammy Ofer Stadium in Haifa, which was stopped at the direction of the Coastal District Commander who was present at the scene, Chief Yechiel Bohdana, in consultation with Police Commissioner-General Danny Levy.

At the end of the game, the Coastal District police from the Carmel area launched an intensive investigation, establishing a special investigation team under the command of the area's deputy commander, Lt. Col. Erez Ketavi, to locate and arrest the suspects who were involved in the incident and endangered the fans and players by throwing a large number of flares from the stands onto the pitch, some of which also hit the players on the field.

As the investigation progressed, the police arrested ten suspects for questioning for aiding and abetting the torchbearers. In the process, the investigation team uncovered three key suspects in the throwing of the torches onto the field. The police arrived and arrested them for questioning.

The suspects, residents of Migdal HaEmek, Or Yehuda and Abu Sinan, were arrested for questioning at the Carmel Police Headquarters offices, at the end of which they were imprisoned and their detention was extended from time to time.

Today, after exhausting all investigative activities, the police succeeded in forming an evidentiary foundation against the suspects in their actions, and today indictments will be filed against them in the Haifa court.

Coastal District Police will continue to operate with zero tolerance and a heavy hand against lawbreakers and strongly condemn any manifestations of violence on sports fields, verbal or physical. Every fan has the responsibility and duty to maintain this.

The prosecutor's office said:

The State Attorney's Office filed an indictment following the serious events that occurred during the football match between Maccabi Haifa and Maccabi Tel Aviv at Sammy Ofer Stadium last month.

The indictment was filed with the Haifa Magistrate's Court against three Maccabi Haifa fans, who, along with others, threw smoke grenades, flares, firecrackers and other objects during the game.

The three defendants – Ofek Rosen (26) from Migdal HaEmek, Eviatar Suisa (19) from Even Yehuda and Khaled Khaled (32) from Abu Sanan, are charged with the offenses of bringing a prohibited object into a place where a sporting event is taking place, reckless and negligent acts, aggravated injury, obstructing a police officer, and more.

According to the indictment filed by Attorney Maya Matzliach of the Haifa District Attorney's Office, the defendants in the case, members of the "Green Monkeys" organization, planned, together with others, to disrupt the proper course of the game by throwing prohibited objects onto the field in an organized and timed manner, every ten minutes during the game. The objects included smoke grenades that were apparently stolen from the IDF, flares and firecrackers, which were smuggled into the stadium by various means.

During the first half, the defendants and their friends threw dozens of flaming flares and firecrackers onto the field, posing a real risk to human life. As a result of their actions, Maccabi Haifa goalkeeper Sherif Kiyof was injured, who was burned on the back by a flaming flare. In addition, another flare almost hit player Dolev Haziza in the head, and some of the flares fell on the crowd in the stands.

The game was stopped several times due to the violence, and was finally stopped completely at the end of the first half, out of fear for the safety of the players and the crowd.

As a result of the events, Maccabi Haifa suffered significant penalties from the Football Association's disciplinary court, including a 3:0 technical loss, a reduction in league points, a ban on selling tickets for two away games, and a financial fine.

Ofek Rosen was also accused of violating a legal order by entering the game even though a ban from sports fields, and from Maccabi Haifa games in particular, had been issued against him several days earlier.

The prosecutor's office is seeking to detain the three until the end of the legal proceedings against them. The arrest request states that "the defendants and their accomplices acted as a well-organized criminal gang. Their actions are not acts of encouragement for the team they are 'fans' of, and they did not come to the stadium to watch a football game. They came to disrupt the proper course of the game and committed a series of violent acts intended to demonstrate force and disrupt public order, while endangering tens of thousands of people in the stadium and in blatant disregard for the law and law enforcement authorities."

The prosecution also claims that this is "not another case of throwing flares at a sporting event, but an event that is extraordinary in its scope and severity, as shown by the circumstances described in the indictment."