About 40 people gathered outside Darius and Girėnas Stadium in Kaunas on Thursday to protest a friendly match between the Lithuanian and Israeli national football teams.
The demonstration, called Red Card for Israel, drew participants carrying Palestinian flags and signs opposing cooperation with Israel. One sign read: “Get these war criminals out of our sports.”
Gvidas, a 20-year-old student who declined to give his last name, told BNS he joined the protest because he opposes Lithuania hosting the friendly match.
“Israel is a state that commits genocide, it’s an occupier. This is brutally incomprehensible cruelty,” he said. “And the fact that our institutions choose to continue cooperating and shaking bloody hands is incomprehensible. I protest against this. There must be a boycott […] these matches should not take place in the first place.”
His view was echoed by Nemunas Kezelis, a 19-year-old student, who said the match should not be held and that “there should be no contact with Israel at all”.
One of the protest organisers, Emilis Starodubovas, 26, told reporters the action was meant to show opposition to Lithuania’s decision to play the friendly.
“There are many reasons for this,” he said. “We will join the list of countries that have played matches with Israel over the last two years. These were Belarus, Hungary and Slovakia. Only these three countries agreed to play friendly matches with Israel. And now we will be on this list.”
Starodubovas said he was disappointed that Lithuania did not pursue friendly matches with Grenada or North Macedonia instead. He also cited the Palestinian Football Association’s claim that at least 380 footballers, including professional players, referees and coaches, have been killed in the past two years.
“And the Israeli Football Association openly supports soldiers, sends them support, and organises matches for them,” he said. “This means their sport is intertwined with politics. And with our friendly matches, we are showing that we are friends with a team that supports violence, that supports genocide in Palestine.”
He said the Lithuanian Football Federation should follow the example of some European federations and end cooperation with its Israeli counterparts.
Kaunas City Council told BNS it issued a permit for a gathering of up to 150 people.
Thursday’s friendly match between Lithuania and Israel was held without spectators for safety reasons.
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