Soccer-Fiorentina supporters group to defy early entry order for Maccabi Haifa tie

Fiorentina supporters group Curva Fiesole would defy an order to arrive early for Thursday's Europa Conference League home game against Maccabi Haifa to protest the presence of any visiting fans who support attacks on civilians in Gaza, the group said.

Fiorentina supporters group Curva Fiesole would defy an order to arrive early for Thursday's Europa Conference League home game against Maccabi Haifa to protest the presence of any visiting fans who support attacks on civilians in Gaza, the group said. The Florence-based Serie A club's supporters were asked by the club management to enter the stadium at least half an hour before kick-off, Curva Fiesole said in a post on Instagram.

"Next Thursday's match will see heavy restrictions for (Fiorentina) fans, from empty stands in the Parterre, to the absurd obligation to enter by 6.15pm on a working day," the group wrote on Monday. "All this, it seems, in order to guarantee the visit of a supporter who showed up in (the first leg match) with banners praising an army attacking civilians, guilty of waiting for water, food and medicine.

"Why should we pay for all this? The Curva Fiesole will present itself as usual at the gates shortly before the start of the match... it will be up to those in charge to decide whether or not to let us in. Our conscience is in the right place." The conflict in Gaza, triggered by the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas in which 1,200 people were killed and 253 taken hostage according to Israeli tallies, has led to the deaths of 31,000 Palestinians according to Gaza officials.

The supporters group criticised UEFA for allowing the participation of Israeli clubs in European competitions during the conflict. "Football teams belonging to the Russian Federation are excluded from UEFA competitions following the war in Ukraine," they wrote.

"Does UEFA, from the height of the moral principles it boasts of upholding, have nothing to say about the ongoing massacre in Palestine?" Fiorentina lead the last 16 tie 4-3, having beaten Haifa in the first leg in Budapest on March 7.