CF Montréal moved on Sunday to publicly address the behaviour of a section of its own support, after Israeli forward Dor Turgeman was targeted with chants of "Death to Israel" during Saturday night's Major League Soccer draw with New England Revolution at Stade Saputo, ONE reports.
New England took an early grip on the game, going 2-0 up inside the first half hour — Carles Gil converting a penalty before Turgeman doubled the lead in the 36th minute. It was the goal, and what followed it, that defined the night.
Witnesses in the stadium, including reporters covering the match, described a section of Montreal supporters directing anti-Israel abuse and repeated chants of "Death to Israel" at the 22-year-old throughout the contest. After scoring, Turgeman ran toward the section that had targeted him and celebrated with a defiant "can't hear you" gesture, arms spread and a hand cupped to his ear.
The response from the stands was immediate: fans hurled cups and bottles onto the pitch. Montreal goalkeeper Sebastian Breza then confronted Turgeman and shoved him to the ground, sparking a brief scuffle between players from both sides. Breza was shown a yellow card for his part in the incident.
Montreal fought back in the second half, with Brayan Vera and Prince Owusu scoring either side of the hour mark to salvage a 2-2 draw and deny the Revolution what had looked like a comfortable away win.
According to ONE, CF Montréal subsequently issued a statement acknowledging "discriminatory remarks directed at one of the players" during the match. The club said it "does not tolerate any form of discrimination or behaviour that encourages hatred," and confirmed it was investigating the incident in coordination with MLS and New England Revolution to establish the facts and decide on further action.
Turgeman, raised in Ashdod, joined New England from Maccabi Tel Aviv in September under MLS's U22 Initiative. He won two Israeli championships and an Israeli Super Cup with Maccabi before the move, and has ten senior caps for the Israel national team.
He has settled quickly into life in MLS, becoming just the tenth player in league history to score in each of his first three appearances for his club.
The abuse in Montreal was not reported in isolation: several outlets covering the match noted it came amid a wider pattern of antisemitic incidents recorded in Canada in recent months, adding weight to the scrutiny now facing both the club and the league over how they respond.
