Ultras from the Maccabi Haifa soccer club displayed a banner during their derby match against their city rivals, Hapoel Haifa, on Monday, which displayed an offensive, violent, and misogynistic picture of a female fan.
"This is not 'part of the sport,' this is not 'fan culture,' this is the normalization of violence and sexual assault, and above all, it's utterly disgusting," said MK Meirav Cohen (Yesh Atid).
MK Simon Davidson from Yesh Atid also criticized the banner, saying that "misogynistic and violent statements have no place in Israeli soccer."
"I call on all soccer fans to continue enjoying the games with unity and encouragement of sports values," he added.
Maccabi Haifa feels 'very uncomfortable at the sight of the offensive banner'
Maccabi Haifa issued a statement saying that the club was "uncomfortable at the sight of the offensive banner that was hoisted in the stands."
The club assured it had contacted the security enforcement authorities to understand how the banner was approved for use in the stadium.
"We condemn the content of the sign and oppose the introduction of any sign with offensive content into the stadium," the club said in its statement.
On Wednesday, police reportedly absolved themselves of responsibility for the banner, claiming that they were only obligated to keep order outside of the stadium, and that disturbances within the stadium were under the jurisdiction of the event's manager.