Jews protest fans’ waving of swastikas

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – Jewish leaders demanded Friday that Argentine soccer authorities take action against a club whose fans waved flags emblazoned with swastikas at a professional match.

Television images showed fans of the second-division club Talleres waving the flags ahead of the team’s match Thursday night against rival Gimnasia de Jujuy in the central city of Cordoba.

The match went ahead as scheduled and police reportedly went into the stands after the fans but they disappeared into the crowd as the officers approached. No arrests were made, police said.

Jewish leaders criticized the referee for allowing the match to continue. Argentine league rules allow referees to call off games if crowd behavior becomes unruly.

The flag-waving “was a clear provocation and racist,” said Jorge Kirszenbaum, the president of DAIA, a leading Jewish organization.