June 5 (Reuters) - Israel's Beitar Jerusalem will be ineligible to participate in European competitions in the upcoming season after fans stormed the field following a championship win last month, the Israel Football Association said Monday.
Israeli president Isaac Herzog was rushed out of a soccer stadium on May 23 in the northern city of Haifa after jubilant fans rushed the pitch when the Beitar team won the State Cup in a 3-0 win against Maccabi Netanya.
The fans also threw flares and other objects onto the pitch during the match, according to the association.
The decision means that Beitar will be barred from participating in the next edition of the UEFA Conference League, for which they qualified by winning the Cup.
It was not immediately clear who would take Beitar's spot in the second qualification round of the Conference League.
Beitar were also ordered to pay a fine of 70,000 shekels ($18,700) and received a three-point probational deduction in league play for the upcoming season.
Beitar have one of the worst disciplinary records in Israel's Premier League and have received punishments that include points deductions, fines and matches behind closed doors.
Israel's Culture and Sport Minister Miki Zohar said the punishment was too harsh and that the players should not have to pay the price for the fans' behaviour.
"The team won the cup and therefore it deserves to play in Europe," Zohar tweeted. "Collective punishments are not a solution."
The club are a bastion of Israel's political right-wing and a group of supporters known as "La Familia" has been openly abusive toward Israel's Arab minority.
Beitar ended in seventh place in the regular season of the Israeli Premier League, and second in the relegation side of the play-off.
Reporting by Tommy Lund in Gdansk and Maayan Lubell, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien
Mawsor09
0
Muslims are crying
ketdekmyz
0
Isis, Talibans, Al qaeda has nothing to do with Islam or Muslim.
Aren't their strongholds are in Muslim countries and aren't they muslims majorly ??
Hamza_R
0
no , they are innocents bruh , ISIS , TALIBANS , AL QAEDA . They are innocents
rapists, serial killers, is everyone else innocent?
FuckEverything
0
Isis, Talibans, Al qaeda has nothing to do with Islam or Muslim.
Lies
MHTareq007
2
These terrorist should be banned from the world!!
kudcmnost
3
Israel should be ban from Fifa instead of Russia
munbdkmpy
5
they deserve it, their country needs to be banned from fifa. bunch of terr0rists
Leothegoat1
1
I don’t understand why those criminals are still allowed to play and participate in competitions. Every one knows they are thieves and murderers 🤦🏻😡
Israel itself is a Terrorist country killing millions of people indiscriminately infront of the whole world
Leothegoat1
1
I don’t understand why those criminals are still allowed to play and participate in competitions. Every one knows they are thieves and murderers 🤦🏻😡
Isis, Talibans, Al qaeda has nothing to do with Islam or Muslim.
Alkasser30
6
I don’t understand why those criminals are still allowed to play and participate in competitions. Every one knows they are thieves and murderers 🤦🏻😡
W4D
3
I feel the best punishment could have been to play behind closed doors. it's fans who should be banned not the squad which worked the full match, it's too harsh
yeeceprtz
7
I hope the whole extremists country to be banned from every possible competition!
lihabilmpy
7
Ban Israel too
Popsmoke360
1
🥺