Soccer / Premier League / With State Cup loss behind them, Hap. TA chiefs to quit
By Moshe Boker
Hapoel Tel Aviv CEO Moni Harel and senior director Shahar Ben-Ami announced that they will resign at the end of the month after the club's defeat in the State Cup against Beitar Jerusalem on Tuesday.
Harel and Ben-Ami called the shots at Hapoel for over three years, and during their tenure the club won two consecutive State Cups. But their time was also marred by the controversial decision that led to the sale of key players such as Shimon Gershon and Shavit Elimelech.
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"It's sad to leave a place one loves and invested in, but our contract was over and we decided to leave the work to somebody else," Ben-Ami said. "There's also a feeling of relief. We had a lot of difficult moments. On the one hand the Cup Final at Ramat Gan Stadium was a high point, an amazing turnout by our supporters. On the other hand, it's very tough."
On Tuesday, Beitar celebrated its victory in the State Cup at Jerusalem's Haoman 17 nightclub. About 1,000 supporters showed up, few of whom were allowed to enter.
About 3,000 supporters had earlier showed up at the city's Safra Square, where they expected the celebrations to be held, but they quickly dispersed when they got word that the team was not on its way as expected.
"We waited for the team's buses to show up, but when we heard they were going to Haoman we went there, only we weren't let in," said Ziv Cohen, a Beitar fan.
Beitar officials said the team could not celebrate its Cup Final victory because of security preparations ahead of the visit by U.S. President George W. Bush, who landed in Israel yesterday.
Beitar Coach Itzhak Shum tried to remind his players that their mission this season hadn't been accomplished yet. "We have a very important match on Saturday and we need to win it to clinch the championship," Shum said to his players, referring to the match against second place Maccabi Netanya.
He later asked them to cancel a private party they had organized to celebrate the triumph until after Saturday's match.
Beitar denies players snubbed Majadele
Beitar officials yesterday responded to claims by Sports Minister Raleb Majadele that its players intentionally snubbed him at the ceremony where the trophy was handed out because he is an Arab.
Club officials denied that its players refused to shake hands with Majadele, claiming that his position during the ceremony at the end of the table where the trophy was placed made it impossible for them to reach him."He'd rather not comment," a spokesperson for Majadele said yesterday.
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