April 17 – Religious leaders in Israel have criticised plans for the country’s national team, including Liverpool’s Yossi Benayoun (pictured), to play some of its Euro 2012 qualifying matches on a Friday, which is considered in the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.
A new UEFA initiative means that a number of qualifying games for Euro 2012, which is due to be held in Poland and Ukraine, will be held on a Friday and Tuesday nights instead of the traditional Saturday and Wednesday, so shortening the time top players are away from their clubs and giving them an extra day to recover before match action the following weekend.
In Israel Friday – or Shabbat as it is known in Hebrew – is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism.
Shabbat is observed from sundown Friday until the appearance of three stars in the sky on Saturday night.
Israel, under new coach, Frenchman Luis Fernandez, Israel will this year play Malta at Ramat Gan, the team’s national stadium, on Friday September 3 and Croatia on October 8 and Georgia on October 7, 2011.
Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger said: “This violates the status quo.
“The national team belongs to the nation.”
New National Religious Party MK Uri Orbach said he plans proposing legislation which will stop Israel from playing home matches on Shabbat.
Israel FA spokesman Gil Lebanony said: “We have no choice.
“UEFA has dictated the games must be played on Fridays and our opponents have not agreed to switch them to Saturday nights.”
Lebanony warned that if a law was passed that prevented Israel playing matches on Friday nights then their place in the European Championships would be at risk.
He said: ”If there is legislation then there is nothing we can do.
“We must decide if we want to be part of the international football family.”