Beitar Jerusalem fined 95,000 euro for fans’ Belgium riot
Supporters of Israeli soccer club threw flares and fireworks onto pitch during match against Sporting Charleroi, halting game
Beitar Jerusalem soccer club was fined 95,000 euro (NIS 393,700) by European soccer’s ruling body UEFA on Friday, for riots by club fans during a match in Belgium earlier this month, Israel Radio said. The club has also been ordered to play one match without fans.
UEFA said last week that it would charge the club for fans’ racist chants and banners during a volatile 5-1 loss in Belgium days before.
Belgian club Sporting Charleroi was also charged over racist incidents involving fans at the Europa League qualifying match played at its home ground.
The match was delayed in the first minute when Beitar fans threw fireworks and flares on the field. The Charleroi goalkeeper was later struck by an object thrown from the stands.
UEFA said Charleroi fans made racist gestures, which reportedly were Nazi salutes. The club was also reprimanded for failing to segregate fans.
Some Beitar fans also displayed a flag of the banned racist Kach party. Beitar owner Eli Tabib approached them before the game to put it away, but it later reappeared, Channel 2 news reported.
Following the game, Tabib said he was putting the club up for sale because he felt ashamed of supporters’ hooliganism in Belgium.
“I am ashamed… I have decided to end my involvement with Israeli soccer and am returning to the United States… I will appoint a trustee to run the club until somebody is willing to buy it,” Tabib said in a statement.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the actions of the fans, saying that a handful of rioters could not be allowed to tarnish Israel’s image.
Beitar’s fan base is a bastion of Israel’s political right wing. A group of supporters known as “La Familia” that the club has been unable to control has been openly abusive to Israel’s Arab minority.
The Times of Israel Community.