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Israeli players say they were offered bribes
Associated Press
Posted: 2 hours ago
game was canceled Saturday after three players from the Hapoel Beer Sheva team said they were offered bribes to throw a game against Hapoel Raanana.
The players, Yehiel Tsagai, Evyatar Iluz and Miki Atiya, were arrested and questioned by police. They remained in custody Sunday. Teammate Assi Rahamim, a goalie, also was arrested.
Israeli media reports said each of the three players was given $2,400, along with a warning not to play too hard. One of the players said he was threatened by a man who stuck a gun to his head.
The three players reportedly told police that gangsters offered them the bribes to throw Saturday's game because of this week's unusually large sports lottery of $9 million. The lottery is based on the outcomes of all the top soccer games in the country in any given week.
The Israel Football Association said the game was postponed pending police investigation, and the lottery jackpot was reduced to $2.3 million.
"This is the black sabbath of Israeli soccer," said Iche Menacham, chairman of the soccer association.
The scandal erupted days after a goalie from a top league team was suspended following suspicions of throwing a match. Hapoel Kfar Saba goalkeeper Oshri Levi allegedly threw the club's recent Premier League game against Maccabi Haifa.
Levi conceded a late goal in which he appeared to throw himself over his own goal line after making a save. The match ended in a 3-3 tie.
In addition to the government-sanctioned sports lottery, there is also a massive illegal betting syndicate that has tarnished Israeli soccer in recent years.
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Israeli players say they were offered bribes
Associated Press
Posted: 2 hours ago
game was canceled Saturday after three players from the Hapoel Beer Sheva team said they were offered bribes to throw a game against Hapoel Raanana.
The players, Yehiel Tsagai, Evyatar Iluz and Miki Atiya, were arrested and questioned by police. They remained in custody Sunday. Teammate Assi Rahamim, a goalie, also was arrested.
Israeli media reports said each of the three players was given $2,400, along with a warning not to play too hard. One of the players said he was threatened by a man who stuck a gun to his head.
The three players reportedly told police that gangsters offered them the bribes to throw Saturday's game because of this week's unusually large sports lottery of $9 million. The lottery is based on the outcomes of all the top soccer games in the country in any given week.
The Israel Football Association said the game was postponed pending police investigation, and the lottery jackpot was reduced to $2.3 million.
"This is the black sabbath of Israeli soccer," said Iche Menacham, chairman of the soccer association.
The scandal erupted days after a goalie from a top league team was suspended following suspicions of throwing a match. Hapoel Kfar Saba goalkeeper Oshri Levi allegedly threw the club's recent Premier League game against Maccabi Haifa.
Levi conceded a late goal in which he appeared to throw himself over his own goal line after making a save. The match ended in a 3-3 tie.
In addition to the government-sanctioned sports lottery, there is also a massive illegal betting syndicate that has tarnished Israeli soccer in recent years.
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