The fine imposed on the Italian football federation by the governing body, FIFA, came after a match on September 5, between the Italian and Israeli team. An official complaint was sent to the FIFA by the Israeli Football Association after fans of the Italian national team spat and made offensive gestures at their rival Israeli supporters.

An £24,000 fine was placed on the football association after FIFA made its investigations into the matter and found the actions of the fans quite offensive.

Two men were however taken out of the Italian section of the stadium by police officers attending the World Cup qualifiers played out at the Sammy Ofer stadium in Haifa and sent out of the premises during the match where Italy beat Israel 3-1. They however were not arrested.