Prefer Jewish News on Google
Polish football team honours Shoah victim who scored first international goal
Ahead of match between Israel and Poland, Jewish former player Jozef Klotz will be recognised by officials and teams
Ahead of a match-up between Israel’s national football and Poland’s, the Polish Football Association honoured a Jewish player murdered in the Holocaust.
The two teams are to face each other Monday night in Warsaw in a qualifying match for the 2020 UEFA European Football Championship.
Relations between the two countries have suffered following the eruption of a diplomatic crisis over a Polish law making it illegal to blame Poland for the Holocaust.
The Polish association’s president, Zbigniew Boniek, is scheduled to present a jersey bearing the name and number of Jozef Klotz to his Israeli nephew, Yoav Dekel. In 1922, during a match in Sweden, Klotz scored the first-ever goal for a Polish team in an international match.
The current members of the Polish national team all signed the shirt, which will be presented during a ceremony in Warsaw, which is being organised by the From the Depths Holocaust commemoration group, headed by British-born Israeli Jonny Daniels.
Former Chelsea manager, Avram Grant, who is Israeli but also has a Polish passport, will be present at the match. He is the son of a Holocaust survivor and Honorary Chairman of From The Depths
The ceremony is to be followed by the opening of an exhibition about Klotz and the other Polish Jewish players at the TSKZ Jewish cultural club in Warsaw.
Israel’s will play Latvia Friday night and Poland on Monday.
The match would bring into contact hundreds of football fans from Israel and Poland. The tension has recently widened to include restitution issues.
Klotz, who was unusually tall for his era, was one of Polish football’s earliest stars. He played for Jutrzenka Krakow and Maccabi Warszawa before being murdered by German Nazis in the Warsaw Ghetto in 1941.
Keep community journalism free.
Jewish News is free for everyone. No paywall. No barriers. Just trusted journalism for anyone who wants to stay connected to Jewish life in Britain.
If you value that, please support us.
From as little as £5 a month, you can help keep our journalism free and accessible to all.
Every day, we report on the issues that matter to our community. We celebrate achievements, support charities, challenge antisemitism and ensure Jewish voices are heard more widely.
From as little as £5 a month, you can help us continue to:
- Report on the stories shaping Jewish life in the UK and beyond
- Bring our community together through shared stories, events and campaigns
- Celebrate the people, culture and moments that define our community
- Support organisations doing vital work across Jewish Britain
You can make a one-off donation or become a regular supporter. Every contribution helps keep our journalism free, independent and accessible to all.
If everyone who values Jewish News gave a small amount, it would make a real difference to our future.
