Hapoel Jerusalem on the attack: "What is all this football worth?"
After the attack on the fans, the Reds responded: "We are sure that Maccabi Tel Aviv will distance the criminals." Zada is worried: "A warning sign. We need to improve, and fast."
Hapoel Jerusalem and coach Lior Zada finished the opening round of the season with many concerns for the future following a 5:2 loss to Maccabi Tel Aviv in Rehovot. Hosting Maccabi Tel Aviv during a difficult period for them, between two knockout matches in the Conference League playoffs, and leading 1:0 after less than a minute was ground for a surprise and a dream start, but that is more or less where it ended.
"It's not the five goals we conceded, we simply didn't make it difficult for Maccabi Tel Aviv, we conceded easy goals, everything we don't want to be," the club summarized the performance and added: "All the games in the league will be difficult, we will need to improve, and fast."
The team is interested in adding a striker, and regardless, the club is convinced that foreign players who arrived late, such as Christ Tihi and Zubaru Sharani, will contribute much more. In Jerusalem, they continue to believe that the team will look better from round to round, but they say: "Yesterday was a warning sign."
At the end of the match, Hapoel Jerusalem fans were attacked by Maccabi Tel Aviv fans at the exit from the stadium in Rehovot.
"We are receiving testimonies, photos, and videos tonight in which some of the attackers can be easily identified, and we demand that the police deal with the rioters. We are sure that Maccabi Tel Aviv will distance those criminals from among its crowd," stated a nightly announcement published by the club.
The response came after a handful of Maccabi Tel Aviv fans attacked the team's fans, shattered the windows of several vehicles, and sprayed tear gas into the faces of three fans. By the way, those who came to the aid of the injured fans were Maccabi Tel Aviv fans who watched the events and approached to help.
One of the fans described the events: "It was out of nowhere, no provocation or argument, they saw red and decided to attack. They won and should be happy, how does this happen in football?"
