In the autumn of 2000, relations between Arabs and Jews in Israel reached a crisis point unprecedented since 1948. During the first days of the Palestinian uprising in the occupied territories, the Palestinians inside Israel went on stormy demonstrations which included rock throwing and blocking roads. In some localities the police reacted by shooting live ammunition into the demonstrators, resulting in the killing of thirteen Arab demonstrators. On one level, the uprising of the Arabs in Israel expressed solidarity with the struggle of Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip; even more importantly, however, it reflected their frustration over failed attempts to be accepted as equals in a state which constantly proclaims that it is not theirs.

Soccer was, and still is, a major sphere through which many Arab citizens have sought acceptance. Thus, soccer was one of the institutions which suffered the most with the outbreak of violence. On the first Saturday of the riots, the Israeli police canceled soccer games throughout the country – with the exception of the two top divisions, in which only two Arab teams played (their games were postponed as well). The fact that almost all soccer players in Israel were forced to sit idle because of the tense relations between Arabs and Jews shows the degree to which the Arabs had become a prominent factor in Israeli soccer. Furthermore, it constituted a symbolic and tangible expression of the depth of the crisis.