Israel’s top 2 football clubs get severe sanctions over players riot

JERUSALEM: Israeli Champions League club Maccabi Haifa and Conference League side Hapoel Beer Sheva received severe sanctions for a players riot.

The incident, which included assaults between players, erupted after second-placed hosts Beer Sheva scored a last-second winning goal against the league champions and current table leaders in a 2-1 victory on May 1, reports Xinhua.

The Israel Football Association announced in a statement that its disciplinary court imposed a three-point deduction for each team, alongside high fine penalties.

In addition, Haifa midfielder Basam Zaarura was suspended for 15 matches, while his teammates, Senegal international defender Abdoulaye Seck and Congolese striker Mavis Tchibota were banned for two matches each. Haifa midfielder Ali Mohamed of Niger was suspended for one match.

On the Beer Sheva side, Russian winger Shapi Suleymanov was banned for 10 matches while Romanian forward Alexandru Paun was suspended for five matches.

Ghana midfielder Eugene Ansah and Israel midfielder Shai Elias were suspended for two matches each. Defender Miguel Vitor, the Portuguese who naturalized in Israel a year ago, was suspended from one Beer Sheva match.

Haifa now has 75 points at the top of the league, ahead of Beer Sheva (71) and Maccabi Tel Aviv (67) with two rounds left to the end of the season.

In the penultimate round on Monday, Haifa will play away against fifth-placed Maccabi Netanya, while Maccabi Tel Aviv will host Beer Sheva. IANS

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