Sue Surkes is The Times of Israel's environment reporter
Ofer Eini, head of the Israel Football Association (IFA), speaks during the 65th FIFA Congress in Zurich on May 29, 2015. (AFP PHOTO / MICHAEL BUHOLZER)
Israel’s soccer leagues went on an open-ended strike Tuesday to protest foot-dragging over a sponsorship deal between the Israel Football Association and the Toto Winner company, which manages sports betting in Israel.
The 2018 World Cup qualifying game between Israel and Italy will still go ahead as planned on Monday, however.
Ofer Eini, president of the Israel Football Association, and Premier League director-general Oren Hasson informed Sports Minister MIri Regev and Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon on Tuesday that the strike was beginning, Channel 10 reported.
“Despite repeated assurances given to us that the issue will be resolved, a sponsorship deal with Toto Winner has not been signed,” they told the ministers. “As a result…we are forced to inform you that all Israeli soccer activity stops from today.”
Hapoel Beersheba fans wave Israeli flags before the UEFA Champions League group stages play-off soccer match between Celtic and Hapoel Beersheba at the Turner Stadium in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba on August 23, 2016. (Gil Cohen-Magen/AFP)
Given that the leagues are on a break for another two weeks, the move gives the various bodies involved time to reach an agreement. In the next few days, it will only affect children’s and youth league games, the Calcalist website said.
Get The Times of Israel's Daily Editionby email and never miss our top stories
Several months ago, Toto, the soccer association and the Premier League agreed with the sports and finance ministries on a marketing deal and financial help to cover security, but according to Calcalist, the deal was not signed because of Toto’s demands and legal issues.
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you, David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
