In a shocking turn of events at Berlin's Olympic Stadium, Switzerland delivered a decisive 2-0 blow to Italy, eliminating the defending European champions from Euro 2024. The result on Saturday evening not only secured Switzerland's second consecutive quarter-final appearance but also highlighted Italy's struggle to maintain its footballing dominance.

Berlin's Olympic Stadium holds one cherished memory for Italian football – the 2006 World Cup final victory over France on penalties. Now, the Azzurri will also associate the German capital with a bitter disappointment. The reigning European champions' title defense came to an abrupt end on Saturday night, falling 2-0 to Switzerland in the Euro 2024 round of 16. The result proved that sometimes, tradition alone isn't enough to secure victory.

Italy has long been considered one of football's powerhouses, but their 2024 squad pales in comparison to past iterations. Signs of struggle were evident throughout the group stage: a narrow win over Albania, a 1-0 loss to Spain that could have been much worse, and a last-gasp equalizer against Croatia to avoid early elimination. Against a confident Swiss team, Italy's weaknesses were fully exposed.

Switzerland even nearly defeated Germany. After knocking out France at the same stage in the previous European Championship, the Swiss have now reached consecutive Euro quarter-finals. They did so in style, orchestrated by Ruben Vargas, who assisted Remo Freuler's 37th-minute opener before scoring himself in the 46th minute.

Ironically, three of Switzerland's key players – including Freuler and Michel Aebischer, who assisted the second goal – play for Bologna, this season's surprise package in Italy's Serie A. With foreign players increasingly dominating top Italian clubs, it's perhaps unsurprising that the national team is struggling to keep pace.

The post Switzerland beats Italy: Defending Euro champion eliminated appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

Manchester City must be considered one of soccer's heavyweight clubs after winning the Champions League to complete a rare treble, captain Ilkay Gundogan said, while a teary-eyed Jack Grealish hailed manager Pep Guardiola as a "genius". Players were in tears after Rodri's emphatic second-half goal against Inter Milan in the final secured a 1-0 victory and City's first Champions League title on Saturday, having wrapped up the Premier League and FA Cup last month.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram

"Unbelievable. Difficult to put anything in words. Today, we made history," Gundogan told BT Sport. "This team deserves the highest recognition and winning the Champions League elevates us to the very top of the game.

De Bruyne told reporters. "It's incredible we've been able to achieve that with City. It's the first one in the history of the club. We'll always be associated with the club in that way. It's really special."

Striker Erling Haaland has already set his sights on more success next season, warning rivals that a treble has not satisfied his appetite for trophies after spearheading City's attack with 52 goals this season.

The post 'We made history' Manchester City soccer team hail treble success appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

In mid-May, members of the Borussia Dortmund soccer club once again visited Israel in yet another step against antisemitism. This time they came with a major gesture in the form of a donation worth 1 million euros to the national Holocaust memorial and museum, Yad Vashem. In recent years, the German club has spearheaded the fight against racism and antisemitism in the world's global sporting scene, using a host of engagements both inside and outside the pitch. This includes its ongoing efforts to foster strong ties with its soccer counterparts in Israel.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram

Head of Corporate Responsibility at Borussia Dortmund Daniel Lörcher, who also manages the community outreach for the club, already knows a few words in Israel due to his frequent visits to the Jewish state. He even has some thoughts on Israeli soccer.

The overarching takeaway from the interview he granted Israel Hayom is that he has a sober assessment of how far the club has come, as well as how much more needs to be done despite the tremendous strides. In fact, notwithstanding this German sporting empire's many successes, its battle is far from over. Just when it appeared that the great club could succeed where all the others have failed, the coronavirus pandemic hit and reshuffled the deck. This was noticeable outside the stadiums, but of course, inside as well: The violence, the racism, and the bigotry all came back roaring to the soccer pitch all over the world. In Europe alone, there was a spike of some 36 percent in such instances observed in European soccer events. In many ways, European soccer has come full circle to the eighties, and now the managers are playing defense in this effort to stop this violent contagion from spreading even further.

Q: People claim that the coronavirus has had the world reverse much of the progress in many fields. How do you see this from your end? 

"What I can tell you is that when we saw the protests against coronavirus restrictions in Germany, we could see that these had antisemitic elements in the truest sense of the word, even if they tried to hide it under the guise of some other context. This is obviously also trickling into the pitches, perhaps because people have this feeling they are entitled to take out their aggression in these games."

Q: When you started your corporate responsibility projects, did you set specific goals when it comes to the battle against antisemitism?

"That is a good question. I think there was no specific deadline. Our learning was conducted through the process, and we gleaned our insights as one group with our fanbase. We have kept making adjustments along the way, by adding layers from which we can progress even further. We have a long history of antisemitism in Dortmund's fanbase on the stands in the stadiums, emanating from the radical Right. There are several troublemakers among our fans and we try to crack down on them by placing sanctions. But the overall educational efforts are aimed at the other segments of the general population who comes to our games."

Q: This is an interesting approach – you have basically given up on the extremists because it is a lost cause. The goal now is to engage the others in the fanbase so that the extremists' clout won't grow. 

"I think that the education efforts have reached out to the general audience rather than the few people on the margins. With the latter group, there is nothing we can do. It is important to remember that soccer clubs are not educational institutions. We are not the government, we are not a church and we are not a school. But we have leverage and we choose how we wield this power. For us, by realizing who we are as a club, we consider it imperative to use our ability and the club's brand in the world so that we can change what needs to be changed. For us it is part and parcel of who we are as a sporting organization."

Q: In Israel, for example, there are many ideas of having a quick and easy fix when it comes to racism and bigotry. It appears this is the typical approach in most sporting clubs around the world, isn't it?

"Such an approach would not work [in this case]. Let's say we take our players or fans to visit the Auschwitz death camp. Then what? Do you think this would radically change the picture just after this one experience? You need to take people to these places only after they had internalized and understood history, and after you had given them the tools to cope with this situation [of racism and antisemitism]. We keep changing and updating our programs so that they are tailored to the general audience, and our fans are fully engaged with this around the world."

Q: In other words, this is a process that takes time and requires a lot of money, and doesn't always reach the desired results?

"Look, you can take players to the pitch with the slogans on their jerseys saying "no to racism" or "end bigotry." Yes, that is the easiest thing you could do. Why would anyone oppose that? After all, we all want a world free of racism, But you must ask, What are we actively doing to realize this vision? When it comes to slogans, telling someone 'No to racism' may be good, because he knows about it and hears about it. But if you give him a sticker that reads 'No beer for Nazis' the fan may see this as a small nudging attempt that could be perceived differently, perhaps on a linguistical level."

Q: This means that a club or any sporting body that wants to take this responsibility must create its own unique brand within this process? 

"I think this has to be part of the club in every aspect. For example, when new players join our team, they learn the basic game strategy, and they learn about the work we do in other fields. When it comes to our fanbase, our work is definitely far from over, especially since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. This new era has made people think that if you bought a ticket for a match you also got a free license to do and say whatever you want in the stadium. The soccer stadium cannot be a place where you let your guard down and engage in unacceptable behavior. When a fan conducts himself inappropriately in the stands, they must realize that this will hurt him in other fields as well. They will lose their job, for example, and their conduct will be known far and wide in the community as a whole."

Q: One of the interesting challenges is that on the one hand, you need to inform people about the past, but on the other hand, you must keep your sights trained on the present and the future.

"You hit the nail on the head. We may be talking about things that happened in the past, but there are still people in our day and age who subscribe to Nazi ideology. The voices we hear now are those that could be heard in the past, and you have to know your history in order to have the means to deal with what is unfolding in the here and now. But of course, the struggle is first and foremost in the present."

Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories

The post Much more than just soccer: Borussia Dortmund takes on delicate task by confronting past appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

Almost 15,000 Israelis have already purchases tickets for the 2022 Qatar World Cup, and sports travel agencies estimate that 25,000-30,000 Israelis will travel to Qatar for the event. But Israel and Qatar still do not have formal diplomatic relations, and multiple reports have said that Qatar is supporting Hamas.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram

Next week, the National Security Council is due to discuss the possible dangers for Israelis in Qatar, especially since Iranian officials are expected to attend the tournament and there is concern that attacks might be plotted against any Israelis present.

The Qatar World Cup is scheduled to begin on Nov. 21.

An official involved in the matter told Israel Hayom that "This is a complicated security challenge, that requires cooperation with all the Qatari authorities, something we aren't certain will happen.

"Only after our meeting will we understand if and how we can handle this challenge. So many Israelis are scheduled to be there – it's something that has never happened in a state with which we have unstable relations, to say the least."

The official said Israel hopes that the Qataris would want to please the tournament organizers and would comply with various requests to allow it to proceed without any problems.

"If we can't agree on what we need, it's possible [Israel] might issue a warning not to travel to Qatar. This is all pragmatic, we aren't playing games," he added.

One of the security pitfalls foreseen is hotels. Six months out from the tournament, Doha is short on hotel rooms for the World Cup. Qatar is discussing the possibility of having cruise ships anchor off its coast to provide some 4,000 additional rooms.

Even now, the website of the National Security Council's Counter-Terrorism Bureau is running a warning against unnecessary travel to Qatar: "In light of the public hostility toward Israel in Qatar and the presence there of terrorist actors, Israeli citizens who travel/visit Qatar are at risk."

Israel Police Maj. Gen. (ret.) David Tsur, who consulted for the organizers of the Atlanta and Athens Olympic Games as well as the Euro tournament in Ukraine, explained that the Israeli government would not accept responsibility to ensure the safety of any citizens who traveled to Qatar for the World Cup, because there would be no national delegation on the ground in Qatar.

"The moment the Counter-Terrorism Bureau puts out a travel warning, it's just a recommendation telling people to be more careful,"  Tsur tells Israel Hayom.

According to Tsur, "During the World Cup tournament, there is massive investment in security … The Qataris will do everything to ensure that their image isn't tarnished," he said.

The Qataris have promised to allow entry to visitors from every country during the World Cup, on the condition that the tourists have tickets to at least one match. This applies to Israelis, as well, whom Qatar does not usually allow in.

Nevertheless, Tsur said that Qatar is not a "friendly" destination for Israelis, and visitors should keep that in mind.

"Israelis should come to watch the matches, and not to stand out too much and be the typical Israelis abroad. The local rules should be respected, and of course, the local security forces should be respected," he said.

In related news, reports last week said that Qatar and Iran would be stepping up air and sea travel routes, and that Iran expected to host hundreds of thousands of soccer fans who would be attending the event. Iran and Qatar are geographically very close, and flights from some points in Iran to Qatar take as little as one hour.

Avi Cohen contributed to this report.

Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!

The post Will Israeli soccer fans be safe at the Qatar World Cup? appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

UEFA will no longer stage this season's Champions League final in St. Petersburg after Russia attacked Ukraine, The Associated Press has learned.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram

An extraordinary meeting of the UEFA executive committee will be held on Friday to discuss the geopolitical crisis and when officials are set to confirm taking the May 28 showpiece game out of Russia, a person with knowledge of the process said on Thursday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private talks.

UEFA confirmed there was a meeting scheduled to take place at 9 a.m. GMT on Friday.

"Following the evolution of the situation between Russia and Ukraine in the last 24 hours, the UEFA president has decided to call an extraordinary meeting of the executive committee .... in order to evaluate the situation and take all necessary decisions," UEFA said in a statement.

The British government and fan groups had been asking UEFA to no longer play the game in the St. Petersburg, where the stadium is sponsored by Russian state-owned energy giant Gazprom.

"On this tragic day, our thoughts are with everyone in Ukraine, our friends, colleagues, members, & their loved ones," the Fans Supporters Europe group tweeted Thursday. "Given the events unfolding, we expect an imminent announcement from UEFA on the relocation of the Champions League final."

The Ukrainian Premier League suspended operations on Thursday due to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's decision to impose martial law. The league has been on a two-month winter break and was due to resume on Friday. It did not give any planned date to restart.

The International Paralympic Committee said it was in talks with sports officials in Ukraine and Russia as their teams prepare to head to China for the start of the Paralympic Games next week.

"The IPC is in dialogue with both the Ukrainian and Russian Paralympic Committees ahead of the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games," the IPC said in an emailed statement. "As a politically neutral organization, the IPC's focus remains on the upcoming Games rather than the ongoing situation."

Russia's name, flag and anthem are already barred from the March 4-13 Paralympics in Beijing over previous doping disputes. Its team is due to compete as RPC, short for Russian Paralympic Committee.

Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!

The post Report: UEFA to move Champions League final out of Russia appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

The Israel Football Association, the Israel Football Referees Association, and the Israel Bar Association launched a joint initiative on Tuesday to train lawyers to become soccer referees.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter 

The first-of-its-kind training course was held at Bloomfield Stadium in Tel Aviv.

"Soccer is a team sport and we, too, in the law profession, work as a team," said Israel Bar Association President Avi Himi. "Although the individual is tremendously important because he scores the goal in the end, ultimately it's a team game. We hear the criticism toward soccer referees, but worry not, in our profession, too, there's criticism toward judges and both systems perform their jobs faithfully."

Oren Hasson, the president of the Israel Football Association, said: "The purpose of this trailblazing cooperation is to bolster the soccer world with men and women who hold dear the ideal of justice and social values. Soccer, and mainly refereeing, offers wonderful tools for life and I'm certain that this integration will contribute to society as a whole."

Attorney Yariv Teper, the CEO of the Israel Football Referees Association, said, "We need better quality judging that is more principled and socially beneficial. The Israel Bar Association's enlistment [in the initiative], and the desire of so many lawyers to take the field and take on this complex challenge points to a great deal of care. I am certain that the Israel Football Referees Association will benefit from the welcome influx [of new referees]."

The inaugural class of trainees consists of some 70 lawyers.

Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!

The post That's a foul, your honor: New program trains Israeli lawyers to be soccer referees appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

Watford FC will be the first-ever club in the UK's Premier League to host a Hanukkah celebration, the team has announced.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

The sold-out gathering on Dec. 2 is also the first event organized by the club's newly established Jewish Supporters Group.

Watford FC said the celebration would be "an entertaining and festive occasion consisting of music, lighting candles, singing Hanukkah songs and the traditional eating of doughnuts."

"The event is open to all who wish to come together, as part of the Watford FC family, to celebrate Hanukkah, the Jewish 'Festival of Lights,'" the team added.

The event will raise funds for the group's charity, Watford FC Community Sports and Education Trust, but will also honor Watford FC's adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism, the soccer team's We Campaign and the launch of the Jewish Supporters Group.

Watford FC is known for having a large Jewish fan base.

The Jewish Supporters Group was launched by Watford FC fans in August and is the first-ever Jewish supporters group for a Premier League club. It helps Jewish supporters of the club and also provides a forum for them to engage in dialogue with non-Jewish soccer fans on issues such as antisemitism, reported the UK's Jewish News.

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!

The post Watford FC plans to host UK Premier League's first Hanukkah event appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

For the first time ever, an official national team from the United Arab Emirates will compete in a soccer tournament in Israel, along with the youth teams from Germany, Russia, and of course, Israel.

The Gavri Levy winter tournament will take place on November 12-17.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

It will be the first visit of an Arab team to Israel, which comes a year after the respective football associations in Israel and Dubai signed a cooperation agreement. The historic event might also be attended by Humaid bin Rashid Al Nuaimi, the president of the UAE Football Association.

Israel Football Association Chairman Oren Hasson said: "[Sunday] morning's good news is unparalleled and is the fruit of a warm and fruitful relationship between the two associations … Many good people on both sides have worked for this moment and for the deepening of cooperation in a variety of fields, believing that football is a wonderful means of bringing the two countries closer together and strengthening them … We will proudly wave the flags of the United Arab Emirates, Germany and Russia alongside our blue and white flag."

The post In first, UAE's national youth soccer team to play in Israel this month appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

The boycott, sanctions, and divestment movement is targeting German multinational sportswear company Puma for its sponsorship of the Israeli national soccer team.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

Protesters, who gathered at various locations around the world, including outside the company's headquarters in Manchester, England, in recent days, have called for Puma to end its ties with the Israeli team and support for the "apartheid" state. The activists' efforts have paid off, as the hashtag #BoycottPuma has also been trending on social media over the past few days.

On its website, the BDS movement accused Puma of involvement in "violations of international law and human rights. Puma is the main sponsor of the Israel Football Association (IFA), which includes teams in Israel's illegal settlements on occupied Palestinian land. In addition, Puma's current and past exclusive licenses in Israel have operations in illegal Israeli settlements ... More than 200 Palestinian sports clubs have called on Puma to end the sponsorship deal and stop supporting Israel's illegal land grabs.

"Puma markets itself as a company that cares about equality yet it funds the apartheid the IFA helps sustain. In July 2018, it was announced that Adidas was no longer sponsoring the IFA following an international campaign and the delivery of over 16,000 signatures to Adidas headquarters."

"We can do this again. Join Palestinian athletes calling for a boycott of Puma until it ends its support for Israel's illegal land grabs."

The BDS site said that "in an attempt to deflect criticism, Puma responded to the campaign, claiming a 'devotion to universal equality.' It's time for Puma to abide by its stated commitment to human rights and end all activity in illegal Israeli settlements."

While Adidas ended its contract with the Israel national team in 2018, the company clarified the decision was not politically motivated at the time.

Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!

The post BDS calls to boycott Puma over Israeli national soccer team sponsorship appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

Delete the tweet: The Everton soccer team sent out a tweet on Saturday honoring its fans who have died of COVID-19, but whoever compiled the image used in the message mistakenly included a photo of Anne Frank.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

"We've lost far, far too many Evertonians over the course of the pandemic. We wish they could all be here with us today. RIP Blues," the original tweet read.

Today was all about you. Those reunited with us at Goodison, but sadly also those that couldn't be there who we have lost over the course of the pandemic.

RIP Blues. pic.twitter.com/aWNh5gRlAn

— Everton (@Everton) August 14, 2021

The message included a black and white video that featured pictures of some of the club's fans, along with the names of all the fans the team was aware had died of COVID – and Frank, who was captured by the Nazis and died in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.

Once the mistake was pointed out, the Everton FC organization deleted the original tweet and put up another one that did not include Frank's image.

The team compiled the video using pictures of COVID victims submitted by other fans. It is believed that the image of Anne Frank was sent in as a prank.

Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!

The post Photo of Anne Frank winds up in English soccer team's tweet honoring fans who died of COVID appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.