- Fans of Palestinian team Bnei Sakhnin turned their backs on Israeli anthem
- Rival supporters of Hapoel Beer-Sheva stormed pitch and beat them with sticks
- Ugly scenes led to 12 supporters of the Israeli side being arrested during riots
Chaos descended on a football match in the Israeli Premier League, with 12 arrests made during riots on the pitch.
Supporters of Bnei Sakhnin, a team historically backed by Israeli Arabs, turned their backs on the Israeli national anthem prior to kick-off.
Furious fans of Hapoel Beer-Sheva then reacted by storming onto the pitch to fight their Sakhnin counterparts, even beating them with long sticks.
Footage shows the brawl unfold with the weapons being used during violent confrontations.
Hundreds of people sprinted onto the turf to get involved in the ugly scenes and film from the stands captured the incident.
Hapoel Beersheba fans rioted and confronted supporters of Bnei Sakhnin
Footage showed sticks being used in the violent clashes on the pitch
All 12 of the rioters arrested were Hapoel Beersheba fans and the players and referees took shelter off the pitch.
Following the brawl, the match had been scheduled to start again but Bnei Sakhnin players refused to return to the pitch.
‘We are prepared to face the consequences of not appearing for the match,’ the club officially stated, saying that the squad did not feel safe.
An hour after the proposed new kick off time – the league announced that the match would not take place.
A statement from the Israeli Premier League read: ‘After Hapoel Beersheba fans stormed the pitch and the Sakhnin players went to the locker rooms, the police commander at the stadium informed the Sakhnin players that there were no obstacles to holding the match, and police forces were deployed to ensure the game’s proper conduct.
‘Despite this, some Sakhnin players refused to return to the field. The match will not take place today, and the matter will be referred to the disciplinary committee for resolution.’
When fans of Hapoel Beersheba saw their rivals turn their backs on the Israeli national anthem, they ran onto the pitch to confront them and spark violent clashes
And the police added: ‘This evening, during the national anthem, before the kickoff of the football match between Hapoel Beersheba and Bnei Sakhnin, dozens of fans from both teams stormed the pitch and started a violent brawl.
‘The police forces present at the stadium acted quickly, restored order, and arrested 12 fans from both teams.
‘Following the incident, Bnei Sakhnin’s players refused to resume the match, and the referee decided to cancel it.’
The violent scenes took place against the backdrop of the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine.
The death toll in Gaza is now understood to be more than 40,780 men, women and children. The ongoing military action from Israel followed the October 7 Hamas-led attack on southern Israel which killed 1,200 people.