Israeli Soccer Brawl Cancels Match, Continues Next Day At Courthouse

Yesterday's Tel Aviv Derby between Hapoel and Maccabi was called off late in the first half as fans rushed the pitch. But that wasn't enough; supporters of the two sides met up again this morning at a court hearing for those arrested yesterday, and began brawling again. People are fucking nuts.

The trouble began when a shirtless fan attacked Maccabi midfielder Eran Zahavi, who responded by shoving and kicking the fan before security arrived. The referee inexplicably gave Zahavi a red card for defending himself, and Zahavi attempted to get the rest of his team to walk off the pitch in protest. He would eventually leave on his own, but just as play started up again, more fans jumped the barriers and forced the match to be called off.

Even for an old and heated rivalry, yesterday was a "black day," according to Hapoel manager Eyal Berkovic. "This is not soccer," he said, "this is war."

Twelve people were arrested in the melee. Some of those were in a Tel Aviv court today for a detention hearing, and supporters of both sides clashed on the street outside the courthouse:

H/t Daniel