Last update - 00:00 06/05/2007
Forty people injured as Beitar Jerusalem fans storm field at Teddy Stadium
By Jonathan Lis, Haaretz Correspondent and Haaretz Service
Four Beitar Jerusalem fans were seriously wounded and more than 40 suffered minor injuries following a match against Hapoel Petah Tikva at Teddy Stadium in Jerusalem on Sunday.
Beitar won the game 2-0.
Magen David Adom emergency services announced in a statement Sunday night that dozens of Beitar Jerusalem fans were crushed following an attempt to enter the field at the end of the game.
All the seriously injured fans were evacuated to Jerusalem hospitals. Two of those are reportedly unable to breathe on their own.
Police presence at the stadium was heavy, anticipating the possibility of fan violence.
Major General Ilan Franco, police chief of the Jerusalem District admitted last night that the police were surprised. "We did not prepare for the possibility that the fans would try to descend from the stands onto the field," he said.
"What happened should not have happened anyway. We deployed a large force and an outbreak toward the field should not have happened," he continued.
"We knew that this was not a championship game [a crowning match] but a regular league game, and it is unfortunate that the crowd acted contrary to all the scenarios we had prepared for. We will have to analyze this and reach conclusions," he added.
The incident occured at the end of the 2-0 Beitar victory in their home stadium over Hapoel Petah Tikva, which increased their lead at the top of the Premier League by eight points.
Immediately following the final whistle, and in spite of warnings to the fans not to try to push toward the field, thousands of Beitar fans did precisely that, moving toward the closed gates separating the stands from the playing field.
Beitar Jerusalem Chairman Eli Arazi said last night: "We agreed to meet and talk with the police, to analyze the events and to take action on the basis of this analysis."
It is not clear what led the Beitar fans to push for the field.