Israeli Footballers Beaten Up By Palestenians During A Football Match

Israeli football team Maccabi Haifa's game against French side Lille had to be stopped after pro-Palestinian protesters stormed the pitch.

Supporters of reportedly Turkish origin ran onto the field in the Austrian stadium where the game was played and headed for the Maccabi players, sparking ugly scenes.

One of the players is seen to trip a fan before punches were thrown. The Maccabi players - some of whom retaliated - managed to leave the field unhurt.

Maccabi Haifa denounced the attack, saying the club 'believes in co-existence, tolerance and is against violence'

VIDEO Scroll down to watch protestors storm the pitch and attack Maccabi players

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Attack: Protestors storm the pitch and appear to attack the Maccabi Haifa players

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Ugly scenes: Protestors attack the Maccabi Haifa players forcing the game to be called off early

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Brawl: Protestors and Maccabi Haifa players clash after the game is stopped

A club statement given to the Jerusalem Post added: 'This didn't happen because of sport or football, it happened because we are a team which represents Israel.'

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Hitting back: Several Maccabi Haifa players were spotted fighting back after being attacked

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Tension: Pro-Palestinian supporters attacked the Maccabi Haifa players

Israeli football players fight with Palestinian pitch invaders

The Israeli ambassador to Germany, Yakov Hadas-Handelsman, said this week: ‘They pursue the Jews in the streets of Berlin… as if we were in 1938.’ 

During the football match fight yesterday, banners calling for the liberation of Palestine were displayed by certain sections of the crowd.

Lille said on its Twitter feed that the referee called a halt to the game after a group of youths, waving Palestinian flags and placards, ran onto the pitch with just three minutes of the game left.

After a series of brief scuffles, the protestors were led away by security officers with the French side 2-0 ahead at the time.

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Making their point: Supporters were seen with banners demanding the freedom of Palestine

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Apprehended: A security guard manages to pull down one of the protestors

Allon Sinai, a sports journalist for the Jerusalem Post, wrote: 'Punches and profanities were exchanged between the handful of youngsters, who waved Palestinian and Turkish flags throughout the match, and the Haifa players, who were mainly stunned by the scenes.

'The security stewards on hand were slow to react, but ultimately the situation calmed down, with several of the protesters being escorted out of the stadium and the Haifa players leaving the pitch unscathed.'

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Marital matters: Underage marriage [Nikkah] not un-Islamic: CII

CII suggested removing the clause in the Child Marriages Restriction Act that any child cannot go against the will of father and maternal grandfather, who have arranged a marriage at the early age of the child. PHOTO: FILE

ISLAMABAD:  Pakistan’s top constitutional body responsible for giving legal advice to the legislature on Islamic issues has said Islam doesn’t prohibit underage marriage (Nikkah) – but consummation of marriage (Rukhsati) is allowed only when the couple – both husband and wife – reaches puberty.

The decree came at the end of a two-day meeting of the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) on Tuesday. CII Chairman Maulana Muhammad Khan Sheerani presided over the session.
The council suggested removal of a clause in the Child Marriages Restriction Act 1929 that prohibits a child from going against the will of his/her father and maternal grandfather, who have arranged an underage marriage for him/her.
CII members suggested that after reaching puberty, the child should have the right to undo the decision of his/her father and grandfather on underage marriage.
Under the 1929 marriage laws, a couple can defy their underage marriage if it is contracted by their relatives, but they cannot go against the decision of their fathers and maternal grandfathers.
A source, who attended Tuesday’s meeting, told The Express Tribune that most CII members agreed that children should be given the right to undo their underage marriage after reaching puberty, if they desire so.
The CII members believe that the modern-day children are comparatively more aware and mature to take a decision about their marital life, therefore the 1929 marriage laws need to be amended and the specific clause relaxed, the source said.
The Shia Ulema told their CII colleagues that according to Fiqa-e-Jaferia, the clause is not binding since it is not against any principle of the Sharia law.
Meanwhile, Dr Nafisa Shah, the coordinator of PPP’s Human Rights Cell, expressed concern over a statement of the CII chief about second marriage. Maulana Sheerani said on Monday that a male Muslim does not need a written approval from his existing wife/wives in order to contract another marriage.
“Why is the CII concerned with men’s four marriages and why they have done nothing to ensure that women get their right in inheritance as enshrined in Islamic law? Or why have they failed to stop practices such as Vani, Swara and Karo-Kari? Or stop rape, and acid crimes against women?” asked Dr Shah.
“Unfortunately, Islam has been misinterpreted over a period of time by a mindset and a particular school of thought. Islam and modernism are compatible provided progressive scholars interpret the religion,” she added. She called upon the government to induct progressive Islamic scholars in the CII so that women’s rights are also protected.

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