Israel’s national soccer team prepares for Spain match amid heavy security
Anti-Israel protests feared ahead of Friday’s World Cup qualifier; team to wear black ribbons in memory of sportscaster Meir Einstein
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
Israel’s national soccer team was set to play against Spain late Friday amid heavy security, due to planned protests by anti-Israel demonstrators and supporters of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.
The World Cup qualifier match was taking place in the city of Gijon. Roads leading to the arena were blocked off, according to media reports.
The Israeli team was set to wear black ribbons on their arms during the game, in memory of sports newscaster Meir Einstein who died Thursday night.
Israel Soccer Association chairman Ofer Eini said that the association and national team were deeply saddened by Einstein’s passing.
Einstein died on Thursday following a battle with a debilitating muscular disease. He was 65.
His passing prompted an outpouring of tributes for the man whose gravelly voice became synonymous with Israeli sports.
In December, Einstein announced in an emotional broadcast that he was suffering from a disease that affected his muscular system and kept him confined to a wheelchair. However, he continued his work covering sports until his health began to seriously deteriorate in recent days.
President Reuven Rivlin led the tributes to Einstein, who became a national icon with his ecstatic, hoarse screams during his coverage of the Israeli national soccer team’s surprise 3-2 victory over soccer giant France in 1993, calling him “a man who knew that soccer was so much more than a game.”
“When you shouted with joy at that goal that will forever be engraved in the pages of history — we jumped up with you,” Rivlin said. “During painful (sports) losses, we were sad with you, and how sad we are this morning.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed Einstein as “a respected sports journalist and commentator, one of the fathers of Israeli sports.”
“His voice will be missed,” Netanyahu tweeted.
After starting out in radio, Einstein moved on to television, where he covered soccer, basketball and a number of other sports.
He was survived by his wife and two daughters. Funeral details have not yet been published.
The Times of Israel Community.