Israeli flagged for ‘jinxing’ Welsh striker during kick
British press under the illusion it has caught Tal Ben Haim red-handed using dark arts to deny Wales Euro 2016 spot
Sure, it could have been poor fundamentals, a lack of skill or just plain being evenly matched, but if you ask some in the British press, the reason Wales’s soccer team wasn’t able to defeat Israel Sunday night was a dose of Jewish black magic.
A series of stories in the British press have focused on strange hand gestures from blue and white striker Tal Ben Haim as the reason a Gareth Bale free kick at the end of the Euro 2016 qualifier went high.
“It is clear higher powers, perhaps even mystical forces, were at work,” the Wales online website wrote, in what can only be hoped was a display of that famous Welsh humor. “As Bale runs up to take the free-kick Ben Haim looks to be casting some malevolent spell over the effort, putting a curse on the ball’s chances of actually hitting the net.”
“Gareth Bale freekick jinxed by Tal Ben Haim witchcraft,” reads a headline in the Telegraph on a story by JJ Bull, who is apparently eager to live up to his name. The Independent had a similar account of the “jinxed” free kick.
In fact, Ben Haim is seen making some abracadabra gestures before the Bale free kick, which would have broken the 0-0 knot and sent Wales to the next round.
Ben Haim hasn’t made any statements on the supposed witchcraft, apparently cursed to keep mum.
But while the British press may be going gaga over a series of hand gestures, they have apparently forgotten what every middle school kid knows: psych-outs work on the pitch.