The Hapoel Beer Sheva and Bnei Sakhnin match was suspended due to violent clashes on the pitch between the two fan bases after the Sakhin supporters turned their backs when Hatikva, Israel’s National Anthem was being played. The Sakhnin players left the field and returned to the dressing room where they decided to not go back out to play the game due to safety concerns.

Hapoel Beer Sheva owner Alona Barkat offered her comments following the unfortunate incidents that led to the game being called off, “First of all, I want to share in all of the hostage family’s grief and send my condolences to the six hostages who were murdered as well as the three murdered policemen. It is a day where there is no one in the State of Israel whose heart is not broken, a very difficult day. We need to talk about a very disturbing phenomenon and that is the desecration of the national anthem. Even on a day like this, can’t we sing the anthem honorably?”

“Our fans made a video for the fans who were murdered on October 7th. It’s a very emotional day, it was important to honor their memory. We are talking about people who paid with their lives so that we could live here and play football. There was a ceremony and there should have been a moment of silence. On a day like this where you see that there are citizens of the country that do not respect our anthem, people became very emotional. To be clear, I do not for a moment justify what happened, but there is a fundamental issue here that needs to be talked about – the denigration of the national anthem must stop.”

“I am not justifying it at all, but there is a fundamental problem here. It’s not just this game, there will be more games and more times that the anthem will be played because it’s our anthem and our identity. We are all experiencing a painful time, we are in a war and hearts are broken. This must not happen. It happened in Turner and it can happen in any stadium. We need to pay attention to this phenomenon that has no place.”

️Sakhin management put out a statement following the incident at Turner Stadium, “At the start of the game, Sakhnin the fans respected the anthem while a small number turned their backs to the field. The club’s position has been stated many times that it is necessary and obligatory to respect the anthem and the moments of silence. The home team fans fans rocked the stadium with racist chants and a large number of them entered the pitch with the intentions to attack.

“For the safety of the players, Sakhnin chairman Abu Younes ordered the team’s players to return to the dressing room but while there the fear of the players did not abate. The club’s management tried to convince the players to return and play, but many of the players, especially the foreigners refused to return to the pitch.

“With the harsh atmosphere that enveloped the country since the morning hours, the Bnei Sakhnin club is an integral part of everything society is going through and many times its people have expressed their full sympathy with the pain of the affected families. We call on everyone involved in Israeli soccer to treat these unfortunate events with understanding and fairness.”