UEFA fines Polish club after fans displayed far-right political banner against Maccabi Haifa
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European soccer's ruling body announced the verdict over a charge against Rakow of 'transmitting a message not fit for a sports event' at the Europa Conference League qualifying game last week, adding that its investigation continues into a separate incident involving Maccabi supporters.
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Diplomats from Poland and Israel criticized Maccabi fans last week for displaying a banner that said 'Murderers since 1939' in English.
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One week earlier, at the first-leg game in Poland, Rakow supporters had shown a banner in Polish alleging Israel was killing people and the world was silent.
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Rakow continues to play in the Conference League — hosting Bulgarian side Arda later Thursday in the first leg of the qualifying playoffs round — after eliminating Maccabi 2-1 on aggregate.
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Rakow also was fined 30,000 euros ($34,800) by UEFA for fans lighting fireworks at the second-leg game Maccabi hosted in neutral Hungary.
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A one-game ban on Rakow selling tickets for an away game in a UEFA competition was suspended for a two-year probationary period.
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UEFA did not refer in its disciplinary judgment to Rakow's formal request last week to exclude Maccabi from European competitions next season for alleged 'repeated violations' of its rules.
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