Maccabi Haifa midfielder Omer Azili announced this evening (Thursday) his retirement from the Israel national team.
In a post he published on social networks, he explained the reasons why they "reset the national uniform" as he said.
Atzili made a total of six appearances in the national uniform in which he did not score.
"Since I was a child, I have always had the ambition to be a player in the Israeli national team," Atzili wrote, "the pride and honor of representing our country, wearing uniforms in the colors of the flag and hearing the national anthem before a game, is something that simply cannot be explained in words - the greatest pride and honor there is.
To my deep regret, since my last call-up to the national team there has been sharp criticism and extensive discussion on the subject."
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A post shared by Omer Atzili ⚽️🇮🇱 #7 (@omeratzili)
Behind the scenes, since the last call-up to the Israeli national team, Azili felt that the criticisms of his call-up crossed the red line.
The letters from the women's lobby and the discussions in the football association, including the desire to see him appear in the discussions, broke the camel's back for him.
All along, the professional team made it clear that they wanted the Maccabi Haifa midfielder in the squad, but public pressure prevailed.
Officials in the national team and the association expressed sorrow.
"There is a whole array of headline chasers who never rest for a moment," said an official in the association, "Women's organizations that are silent on much more acute issues rode on a noble story and did not let up, sometimes he felt that there were no other issues on the agenda besides him. We can only regret the decision he made that was professional and among the majority The crowd, the desire was to see him continue to play for the Israeli national team."
Throughout the period, pressure was put on Atzili to withdraw and not resist, which is defined in his environment as "bodies that have no authority to discuss a case that was closed due to lack of guilt".
His family also pressed for him to withdraw in order not to let the affair float again, after the last two years it has been prominently in the headlines again.
Maccabi Haifa said: "Maccabi Haifa respects the difficult decision that Omer took. Omer has repeatedly expressed deep regret for the act and concentrates on his family and football."
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