Football fans clash outside court after abandoned Tel Aviv derby
By Jack Mendel
Rival football fans in Israel have brawled outside a courthouse dealing with supporters who had stormed a pitch and caused the abandonment of a top-flight derby match.
Get The Jewish News Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories Free Sign Up
Video footage from Tel Aviv showed fans flailing wildly on the street and hitting each other with belts and sticks for several minutes.
The skirmish added to outrage in Israel over rising football violence which resulted in the cancelling of a Premier League game between city rivals Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel Tel Aviv.
The teams were drawing 1-1 in the first half when a shirtless fan ran on to the field and began hitting and kicking Maccabi midfielder Eran Zehavi.
The two exchanged blows for several moments before security dragged the fan away. The referee then gave Zehavi a red card, sparking a furious reaction from players and fans.
After numerous other supporters ran on to the field and began exchanging blows, the game was abandoned and the players taken off the pitch.
Hapoel’s manager, the former Manchester City and West Ham midfielder Eyal Berkovic, called it a “black day” for Israeli football, adding: “This is not soccer, this is war.”
A special parliamentary committee has convened as a result of the brawl. “What happened was extremely serious and shameful,” Israeli Culture and Sport Minister Limor Livnat said. “It’s a shame there are those who want to turn the field into a battle zone and spoil the principles of Israeli soccer and sport.”
You can watch the video of the skirmish here:
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
-
By Laurent Vaughan - Senior Associate (Bishop & Sewell Solicitors)
-
By Laurent Vaughan - Senior Associate (Bishop & Sewell Solicitors)
-
By Laurent Vaughan - Senior Associate (Bishop & Sewell Solicitors)
-
By Laurent Vaughan - Senior Associate (Bishop & Sewell Solicitors)