Soccer legend Eyal Berkovic accused of sexual harassment

Israeli sports journalist Becky Griffin on Thursday accused the retired soccer legend Eyal Berkovic, who owns the Hapoel Rishon Lezion soccer club, of sexually harassing her.

In a Facebook post, Griffin alleged that Berkovic — who appeared in 79 games for the Israeli national team in the 1990s and 2000s, and played for a string of Premiership clubs over a career in Britain spanning a decade — had put his hand down her pants and made lewd propositions to her.

“I have to say that until that evening I didn’t even know the man, who’s repulsive to me in every respect,” Griffin wrote in a Facebook post alleging the abuse by Berkovic, which she said took place when he was a married man.

“More than anything, I felt insulted and humiliated,” she said.

It wasn’t immediately clear when the alleged incident took place, although Channel 2 reported that it was too long ago for Griffin to press criminal charges.

Berkovic dismissed the allegations, saying they were “all lies.

“She is a liar; none of this ever happened,” he told Channel 2. “I don’t even know what she looks like. I’ll consult my lawyer and consider my response.”