Summary: Beitar Jerusalem - Maccabi Haifa 2:0/Sport1
Maccabi Haifa published a response letter from the club's CEO Itzik Ovadia to the events at Teddy last night (Saturday). The champions' fans who came to the away game against Beitar in Jerusalem complained of severe police violence against them, while the police claimed that a handful of fans threw chairs and objects at police officers who were injured as a result.
"This is not how we expected to start the week. Last night we wanted to enjoy an impressive victory and a great experience when we were accompanied by over 8,000 green fans, including children, women, teenagers and soldiers. We did win, but we returned from Teddy frustrated and bruised physically and mentally. The loss of all of us. Last night at Teddy We encountered a serious incident from the local police again. Enough. Enough. No more! We demand explanations," the CEO said in a statement.
"The Maccabi Haifa club will not be ready to accept the sights and testimonies we witnessed yesterday.
In a game that was conducted impeccably, with a great display of encouragement in the stands of Maccabi Haifa, without flares and without pyrotechnics, in a masterful manner by you, the fans, unfortunately, an order was given to bring police into the stands because of a protest sign, a sign that should be condemned, but the response from the police is irresponsible and lacking Proportionality.
An unfortunate decision by the commander of the police force that hurts us all, everyone who cares about football."
Maccabi Haifa advises fans not to come to Teddy until further notice/Danny Maron
Ovadia continued: "Maccabi Haifa fans will no longer return home bruised in body and soul. As the CEO of the club, I cannot accept a situation where testimonies are received from fans who returned from reserve service in Gaza and complain that they felt flashbacks from the war, testimonies from children and women and fans who experienced violence for no reason!
We have previously witnessed severe incidents of violence in this stadium, we were promised certain promises and it does not seem that there is a real desire for Cayman.
Therefore, to our great regret and since this is an event that repeats itself every time we visit Teddy, we are forced to announce that our official recommendation to our fans will be not to come to this stadium and that the club will not take responsibility for selling tickets to Teddy as long as this threat hovers over our heads.
Tens of thousands of our fans will return to experience football in the capital city of the State of Israel only when we can guarantee them a safe and pleasant football experience.
The CEO of Maccabi Haifa added: "This morning I sent a letter to the Police Commissioner, Chief Superintendent Ya'akov Shabtai, demanding a full and objective investigation into last night's events. To conclude, and for the avoidance of doubt, I would like to express my enormous appreciation for the work of the Israel Police, especially in recent months. And Israeli police officers sacrificed their lives to give us the right to enjoy soccer matches with large crowds. Therefore, the frustration is so great. Under no circumstances and in any way should a soccer match end the way it ended last night. I call on my friends who manage soccer in Israel to make their voices heard. The experiences The horrors at Teddy remind us of sights from dark places, which are not suitable for the football fields, keep football fans away from the fields and harm the sport we all love. I hope that we will return and concentrate only on the amazing things that the game of football has to offer and that the State of Israel will experience days of silence, unity, hope and patience towards each other."
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