Alona Barkat of Hapoel Beersheba and Maccabi Netanya’s Daniel Jammer both said unruly behaviour by some fans was the final straw and announced last week that they would stop funding the two mid-table Premier League clubs at the end of the season.
Beersheba and Netanya, like Beitar Jerusalem — once Israel’s richest club — face starting next season without a major financial backer.
Beitar’s owner, Russian-born billionaire Arkady Gaydamak, is wanted on money-laundering charges and has not been seen in Israel for more than a year.
Barkat pulled the plug on Beersheba after angry fans forced the car of coach Guy Azuri off the road following a disappointing 2-2 draw against bottom side Ahi Nazareth.
Israeli police confirmed the incident. “An individual was tracked down after (Azuri) reported his car registration. He has been questioned and police are preparing to charge him,” police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said.
Azuri, clearly shaken, quit the following morning and Barkat, the only female boss of a top-flight club, made her announcement a day later.
“I have come to the conclusion that I cannot continue like this. The incident that led to Guy Azuri’s resignation was a red line for me…this cannot happen when I am in charge,” Barkat told a news conference.
FAN BASE
Reports have estimated that Barkat spent some $10 million on Beersheba during her three-and-a-half-year guardianship. The club have had 17 coaches in the past decade.
Netanya’s German owner Jammer, who said he had invested $25 million in the three-and-a-half seasons he has been in control, said he was disenchanted and had had enough.
“I don’t feel appreciated, I feel that there is a lot of anger and hate… I need to enjoy what I do. For the first three years I enjoyed my time, and I don’t want to hear curses or need to be protected, I think it is time to go,” Jammer said at Ben-Gurion airport before flying out of Tel Aviv.
Neither Barkat nor Jammer managed to boost their clubs’ fan base. Jammer recruited German Lothar Matthaeus to coach Netanya but, despite good league results, fans were not drawn in and Matthaeus departed after one season.
Gaydamak spent some $100 million in his four years as Beitar boss. He enticed many top local players to the club and hired coaches such as Ossie Ardiles and Luis Fernandez, paying salaries far higher than any previously seen in Israeli soccer. However, Gaydamak’s reported financial woes and his humiliation in the Jerusalem municipal elections in 2008 where he had hoped mass fan support would boost him to the mayor’s job, proved a sobering experience that now leaves the club desperate for help.
