Sudanese football fans taunt rivals with huge Hitler head and Holocaust banner – ABC News
Sudanese football fans taunt rivals with huge Hitler head and Holocaust banner
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A Sudanese football club is under investigation after its fans displayed a giant banner of Adolf Hitler at a derby clash last month.
Hardcore fans of Al-Hilal Omdurman taunted their fiercest rivals with a giant banner depicting Hitler's head as well as holding up letters spelling out the word Holocaust.
A-Hilal ultras supporter group, the Blue Lions, claimed responsibility for the banners during the November 25 fixture, saying they were meant in a mocking tone.
The side's local rivals Al-Merrikh represent a district once considered home to Sudan's small Jewish community.
The sides are based in Sudan's capital, Khartoum. The match was the title-deciding fixture of the season, which Al-Hilal won 2-0 to claim the championship.
Al-Hilal said on its Facebook page it had been fined 40,000 Sudanese pounds ($8,000) and the ultras had been banned from the first match of next season.
The UK-based football anti-discrimination network FARE said it was investigating the incident, which it called "a gruesome first for sub-Saharan Africa".
FIFA is also investigating the incident, according to the Middle East Eye.
"Al-Hilal Football Club strongly condemns this incident, and we would like here to stress our keen commitment to the values of peace, love and coexistence," said club secretary General Hassan Ali Issa in a statement.
"We question how this banner was allowed to enter the stadium and the roles of the organisational committee and the police force who were tasked to inspect the stadium and the fans as they entered the stadium."
Despite that, the club posted a video of the banners on its Facebook page.
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