Watch live: Beitar Jerusalem receives the State Cup
Photo: Avi Rokach
After the huge farce and disgrace that spoiled Beitar Jerusalem's joy last night, the new State Cup holder hopes to have a compensatory experience tonight and celebrate as she deserves her first title in 14 years. The team's players from the capital and the club's management will finally receive the trophy from the hands of the President of the State, at an event also attended by Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Leon and Minister of Culture and Sport Miki Zohar. Beitar fans wait at Sacher Park, where the festivities will take place starting at 19:00, with Moshe Peretz performing, among others. The group will continue from the President's House to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his office at 19:30 p.m.
The failure in the State Cup final
One of the arsonists of the gate network at the State Cup final: a soldier from Unit 8200
who will pay the price: those responsible for the failure in the cup final and the way to eradicate the hooligans
President Herzog: "We must make firm decisions in order to eradicate the violence"
He warned of disaster and called for an end to the violence. Herzog (Photo: Maor Elkeslassy)
President Chaim Herzog called for reconciliation: "This occasion should have been much more joyful. It should have taken place last night at Sammy Ofer Stadium in Haifa, at the end of a great football match. Your team dominated the game, accompanied by an impressive display of encouragement. The violent scenes we saw and experienced last night - starting with the wrestling and especially at the end of the game when the medals and trophy were awarded - we could not award the State Cup to the team that won on the pitch. It is important for me to clarify that the Association and the team apologized to me. It was a blow to the sports culture in Israel. Today it is hard to dispute that this is an emergency. You can't go over that. It's a miracle that there haven't been any fatalities in a football match yet. I insisted that the event be an important educational occasion, where first and foremost we fight against violence and cry out 'Stop violence in sports.' The responsibility is enormous and lies first and foremost with the fans, but it does not stop. It is also imposed on the leadership, the Ministry of Culture and Sports, the Secretariat, their staff and the groups."
Herzog added: "Before the trophy is awarded, I want to hear what the teams say about the events. I ask the public to hear what needs to be done to eradicate this sick evil of violence. Only after that, we will award the State Cup to you - Beitar Jerusalem - for a proper and quality football display. It is important for me to emphasize, there are wonderful and dedicated fans of football in Israel. I call on everyone, headed by the chairman of the association and the minister of sports, together with the rescue system, the justice system and the teams, to begin actions against the wave of violence in sports. I hope that tonight we will invest the right goal to the right goal together. I wish everyone a holiday of unity and reconciliation."
- sport
- Israeli football
- Israel State Cup
Tags
- Beitar Jerusalem