A friendly soccer match slated to be held over the weekend between Maccabi Tel Aviv and the German club Energie Cottbus in Austria has been canceled because of security fears about provocation from a group of neo-Nazi fans, German media reported Tuesday.
Police in the town of Angerberg, in Austria's Alpine Tyrol region, made the decision last Saturday after receiving a tip-off that some 40 fans, including members of Inferno, a fan club Cottbus banned last month for showing anti-Semitic signs, planned to attend the match, the German newspaper Der Spiegel reported.
In June, Cottbus banned Inferno from home and away matches, saying, "FC Energie won't hesitate to protect its reputation and its values with all means at its disposal."
At an away match in 2012, Inferno members held up letters forming the Nazi greeting "Sieg Heil."
According to information obtained by Spiegel Online, the club decided to ban the group after an incident at a recent match against Dynamo Dresden. "Juden DD" was written in adhesive tape on a plexiglass screen in the stadium. "Juden" is German for "Jews."
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