Violence on Israeli soccer pitches is hardly surprising
Op-ed: The Israeli game does not have a responsible adult to guide, oversee and even reprimand; here in no man's land, anything and everything goes.
We are a violent, racist, primitive and wanton society – and there's nowhere better than the soccer fields to display such traits live on air. A rabble of thugs - usually shirtless and wearing peaked caps – sets the tone at the stadium, and no one steps up to deal with them properly – and certainly not team bosses, Israel Football Association board members, some of whose resumes include a long list of curses and vitriol against referees.
One of them, who sits on the IFA board and is a member of the Football League Administration, was also convicted of beating a minor. Today, he guides the way and sets out the values at a soccer club, among the most racist in the world, that is home to hundreds of children. Previously, he was the owner of several other teams, including Hapoel Tel Aviv. But who cares? In the no man's land of Israeli soccer, anything goes.
So why the big surprise when his coach calls up a punk who cursed him and showers him with unspeakable vitriol? The team backed him. On Monday night too, by the way, the teams gave their backing – to their respective side. After the overgrown child attacked Eran Zahavi, Eyal Berkovic tried to persuade Maccabi Tel Aviv's sports director, Jordi Cruyff, not to call his players off the field. But after Maccabi fans invaded the pitch, he sounded really shaken and declared that he was considering leaving.
Eran Zahavi, a wonderful soccer player, has never been that bright. We learned that already following his provocation of the Hapoel fans during another infamous derby – those same fans who had idolized him just two years earlier.
Our soccer doesn't have a responsible adult, and it starts with the team bosses and senior coaches who chase down referees who have done them wrong and curse them on the way to the dressing rooms. In a country with a sports culture, they'd be prosecuted and severely punished. Here, their friends, who've become soccer pundits, justify their actions.
Soccer players have no character. When Zahavi left the field, not a single individual in the red of Hapoel thought to go down and protect him from the objects rained down on him by the fans – not even Berkovic.
Roi Reinshreiber can't be a soccer referee. He's a robot. When the incident unfolded, he immediately delved into his memory to find what the rulebook says. After the confrontation with the savage that invaded the pitch, was there anyone who doubted that the game had lost all sporting value? How impervious can someone be?
But the Referees' Union doesn't have a responsible adult either. I read on Monday that the chairman of the union, Yariv Teper, had responded to claims made against referee Urel Greenfield, who was responsible for a big blunder. Teper said the integrity of the referees was the most important thing. So what if he said so? His most senior referee was done for tax evasion and slapped with a hefty fine. And he's not the only one. Another ref filed false reports about his work hours and was convicted in the Labor Court. It's all bullshit; anything and everything goes, mate; we're in no man's land.
This week, a magistrate acquitted Beitar Jerusalem fans who in 2009 crashed a press conference that was being given by the president of UEFA, European soccer's governing body, and our Football Association chairman at the Hilton Tel Aviv. The Beitar fans stormed the stage, cursed, hung a Beitar scarf around Michel Platini's neck – and walked away unscathed. Why? Because the police were negligent and failed to present the court with the video that identified the fans responsible for the incident. One of them, incidentally, was a soldier with a Givati Brigade beret. Do you really think anyone from the Military Police dealt with the combat soldier?
Lawlessness and hooliganism will continue to rule the day for as long as the punks aren't sent to prison and the judges remain disconnected individuals who go easy on offenders. The stadiums need security personnel who keep an eye on the fans and not on the game. Here, we bring in policemen who are fans.
Last week, Amos Luzon, who holds no office, went down to the dressing room and launched a harsh attack on one of the assistant referees. The IFA's tribunal slapped the team with a fine of NIS 5,000 – no man's land.
Monday night's incident comes as no surprise. It wasn't a watershed moment, or an escalation, or a crossing of boundaries – simply because there are no boundaries. Every man does that which is right in his own eyes. When it comes to soccer, Israel has no refs – neither on the fields and nor in the courts.
