Israel football fans punished for disrespect to Rabin
The Israeli Football Association on Thursday banned fans of Beitar Jerusalem from two home matches after they booed through a minute's silence in memory of assassinated prime minister Yitzhak Rabin."This was an outburst of a large number, hundreds, of Beitar fans in the stands on an issue that is considered a national consensus and an affront to our existence as a democracy," the IFA said in a statement.
The IFA also slapped the Israeli champions with a suspended punishment of two additional matches without a crowd.
Before kick-off in Sunday's match against Maccabi Haifa, more than 2,500 Beitar fans refused to observe the silence, called in honour of Rabin and also to protest against violence in Israeli society and at sports stadiums.
Hundreds of fans booed and a few even sang songs praising his murder by Yigal Amir, a Jewish extremist who was jailed for life after he shot Rabin three times in the back following a Tel Aviv peace rally on November 4, 1995.
During a hearing on Wednesday, Beitar chairman Eli Arazi branded the charges as "populist. This is an outrage. There were no cheers for Yigal Amir. The act was infuriating, but is not a criminal act," he said.
Israeli-Russian billionaire Arkady Gaydamak owns Beitar Jerusalem, a club well known for its right-wing sympathies.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is a prominent supporter of the club but on Monday he slammed the actions of his fellow fans.
Topic: Bolshevik Israel at it again! Shuts down dissent! (Read 1973 times)