Israel, Iran national soccer captains to line up together in Greek team

By signing deal with Olympiacos, Israeli Bibras Natkho will play alongside Iranian Ehsan Hajsafi, who’s been punished by Tehran in the past for playing against an Israeli team

The captain of Israel’s national soccer team has signed to play for Greek team Olympiacos and will line up alongside the captain of the Iranian national team, who in the past was punished by his home country for playing against an Israeli team.

Bibras Natkho, 30, closed a deal with Olympiacos in Athens, the Hebrew-language Yedioth Ahronoth daily newspaper reported Tuesday.

Among the other players on the team, the most successful in Greek soccer history, are two members of the Iranian national team, captain Ehsan Hajsafi and forward Karim Ansarifard both 28.

Natkho, who is from Israel’s small Circassian minority, signed a two-year deal on Monday and will reportedly be paid 850,000 euros ($950,000) per season.

Germany’s Sami Khedira, left, and Israel’s Bibras Natkho, right, challenge for the ball during a friendly international soccer match between Germany and Israel in Leipzig, Germany, May 31, 2012. (Michael Sohn/AP)

Should Natkho, Hajsafi and Ansarifard play together, it will not be the first time Iranians and Israelis have taken to the soccer field on the same side.

Last week Alireza Jahanbakhsh appeared for Premier League team Brighton & Hove Albion FC alongside fellow teammates Tomer Hemed, a Jewish Israeli, and Beram Kayal, an Arab Israeli.

The team won the friendly game against OGC Nice 1–0.

In 2015, when playing for Alkmaar, Jahanbakhsh refused to play against the Israeli team Maccabi Tel Aviv.

A spokesman for the player told The New Arab news site, “Alireza was young when Alkmaar played the Israeli team and he was afraid about his future. It’s not an issue when Iranian players play with Israeli teammates — only if they play against them,” he said.

Iran does not recognize the Jewish state and bars its athletes from appearing against Israelis, but cannot openly ban players because it breaches international regulations.

The animosity landed Hajsafi, and his national teammate Masoud Shojaei, in trouble when in August 2017 they appeared against Israeli team Maccabi Tel Aviv while playing for the Greek club Panionios. The players were both given an unofficial life ban against being on the Iranian national squad, but later returned to the team.

Iran’s Ehsan Hajsafi (R) and Ali Karimi (L) fight for the ball against Syria’s Firas Mohamad Alkhatib during the FIFA World Cup 2018 qualification football match between Iran and Syria at the Azadi Stadium in Tehran on September 5, 2017. (AFP PHOTO / ATTA KENARE)

Hajsafi later issued a statement expressing his regret at the game with the Israel team which he described as the “worst incident that could have happened.”

For the past two years Nathkho has played for CSKA Moscow. Hafsafi played for Olympiacos last season of the Greek league and the team finished third.