Arab Israeli player for Maccabi Haifa arrested over parking dispute
Officers briefly detain soccer midfielder, who also plays for the national team, after he fails to produce a valid permit to enter stadium's lot
Maccabi Haifa midfielder Mahmoud Jaber was arrested by police after he entered the stadium parking lot without a valid permit.
Arriving for his team’s game against Ness Ziona at the Sammy Ofer stadium in Haifa Saturday, Jaber, an Arab Israeli who has played three times this year for the Israeli national team, was asked to present his parking permit. When he refused, he was arrested.
In video circulating on social media, Haifa fans could be seen trying to intervene as Jaber, who is currently not included in the Haifa squad because of injury, is lowered into the back of a police car.
Fans can be heard screaming, “Let him go. That’s Mahmoud Jaber!”
In a statement, police said “a short time ago police arrested a soccer player who refused to produce identification, disturbed traffic and prevented a police officer from doing his job near the Sammy Ofer stadium in Haifa.
“The player was released immediately after he was identified.”
In response, Maccabi Haifa said that throughout the incident, “All attempts to explain that this was a Maccabi Haifa player fell on deaf ears.
“Even the involvement of club officials and stadium security who identified the player didn’t affect the police.”
Haifa won Saturday’s match 3-1, and is preparing to host Lionel Messi’s PSG this Wednesday night in the UEFA Champions League.