News Brief

(IsraelNN.com) The Israeli Football Association (IFA) sentenced Beitar Jerusalem to one game without fans and a $2,500 fine after fans shouted “Mohammed is dead” in a Toto Cup Semifinal match.  The fans reported shouted during a game between Bnei Sakhnin and Bnei Yehuda, before Beitar was to play.

Elad Eisenberg, the attorney representing Beitar, said he was disappointed by the IFA’s decision, especially given Sakhnin fans’ own behavior.  The same referee who reported Beitar for chanting “Mohammed is dead” noted that Sakhnin fans were shouting “Allahu Akbar,” he said, but the IFA prosecutor decided that only the Beitar fans’ chant was racist.  Sakhnin’s official website has pictures of fans waving PLO flags, he said.