Bnei Yehuda handed stadium ban

Bnei Yehuda Tel-Aviv received a four-match stadium ban yesterday following the crowd trouble that marred their home game against Hapoel Tel-Aviv last Saturday.

Behind closed doors
Gavri Levi, president of the Israel Football Association (IFA), had called for the club's ground to be closed down for the entire season but instead they must play four matches outside a 50-kilometre radius of their Shchonat Hatikva stadium, two of them behind closed doors. The IFA's two-man disciplinary committee also imposed a further suspended ban of two matches valid for two years.

Rocks hurled
The trouble began in the closing stages of the 4-1 defeat by Hapoel Tel-Aviv when a section of Bnei Yehuda fans hurled rocks into the away section from outside the ground. Police superintendent Shlomo Har-Lev, who was present at Hatikva Quarter on Saturday said: "Around 1,000 fans broke out of the stadium and started hurling stones towards Hapoel's fans." The Hapoel supporters were allowed on to the pitch at the final whistle for their own safety, although six fans and a policeman suffered slight injuries.

Club considers appeal
Bnei Yehuda's owner Roni Shatan said after the incident he would ban all home supporters from the club's next home match. However, he is now considering an appeal against the IFA's decision and the club's legal advisor, Yossi Sperling, blamed the police's inability to control the incident. "Everything took place outside the stadium which is solely under the jurisdiction of the police," Sperling said.

Loss of sponsor
The incident has prompted the club's sponsor, Lighting Warehouse, to cancel its €60,000 one-season deal. Itzik Haimov, Lighting Warehouse's general manager, wrote to the club, saying: "The unsporting nature of the events have cast shame on the parties to the agreement."