Pro-Palestinian protestors attacked an Israeli soccer team during an exhibition match in Austria Wednesday night.
About 20 protesters carrying Palestinian flags stormed the field and began kicking and punching the players of Israel’s Maccabi Haifa during the friendly with France’s Lille, Mic reports. Some of the players fought back.
Maccabi Haifa is one of the most successful teams in the Israeli Premier League, and has a long history of including Muslim and Arab players, according to Mic, including six players on the field Wednesday.
The team eventually left the field unhurt, but the match was not resumed.
“This didn’t happen because of sport or football,” the club said in a statement, “it happened because we are a team which represents Israel.”
A photo via Twitter:
Pro-Palestinian protesters attack Israeli #soccer team in Austria match http://t.co/WtKEYMJtbV @washtimes #Israel pic.twitter.com/2Xf9N3RVSr
— Jessica Chasmar (@JessicaChasmar) July 24, 2014
And a video via YouTube:
The attack came as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in Gaza continues to escalate.