At the heart of one of the excellent episodes of the “Burned” network series is the fundamental question that is in the soul of every fan: What would you be willing to do for a championship? How far would you go with yourself, with your habits, with your actions – for that sweet moment at the end of the season, a moment that is unparalleled for any football fan in the world: knowing that you are the best. point.
And this question, which usually remains theoretical or hovers in the air, has in recent weeks taken on a particularly concrete meaning for some fans of specific groups in Israel. Condemned: Noble Omar. On the one hand, “breaking the tie” in the full sense of the word. On the other hand, a man who stretches to the end that question from the beginning of the text: How far can a football club go morally, to reach the achievement to which it – and the community that surrounds it – has been waiting for decades?
So here are the dry facts: At 27, a noble Omar – at the professional and professional level only – is everything a football team can dream of. A perfect winger, with a record of rifts and proven success in the Israeli league, in two luxury teams – Betar Jerusalem and Maccabi Tel Aviv. He led Betar to Europe, with Maccabi he won two championships. Last season, Noble Omar had 8 goals and 9 assists, until the season was cut short, and by all accounts if he had continued to play football, he would probably have given a good fight to whoever eventually won the title of “Footballer of the Season” – Dan Glazer.
But these are also the dry facts: On June 10, 2020, it was revealed in the “News 13” edition that two Premier League footballers are suspected of having sex with minors. The next day, the name of the group was revealed; Three days later, Maccabi Tel Aviv announced that the players had gone on a “temporary vacation.” And only a month after the publication of the affair, their names were revealed – Dor Micha and Omar Azili. In August 2020, at the end of the season and after Maccabi Tel Aviv won another championship, the two were unilaterally released from the club.
At the same time, the criminal investigation was conducted: the Israel Police opened an investigation immediately after the publication of the affair. The players were questioned, as well as the complainants and other footballers whose names are linked above. In September 2020, after three long months, the case against Dor Micha and Noble Noble was closed due to innocence. In the meantime, they have already found for themselves other groups, in Cyprus: Micah signed anatomosis Famagusta, a nobleman in Apoel Nicosia. Both, to say the least, did not really find their place in the new groups. The January transfer window has arrived, and they want to go home. So far the facts. Hence – the interpretation.
Maccabi Haifa
According to all reports, this is the number one candidate to take on Noble. The football context here is quite clear: the Green Club has not won the championship for ten years, and feels the opportunity is winking. After 11 league rounds, Haifa stands with an eight-point advantage over the champion The incumbent, Maccabi Tel Aviv. The signing of a nobleman, at the professional level, can close the championship story. Give one last push on the way up, on the way to the celebrations at Dado Beach.
But here, as mentioned, the problem begins: the case is closed, but the stain remains around the name of a nobleman – which led to fierce opposition from some of the green crowd. Elad Maider, 36, is a die-hard fan of the Greens – and his opinion on the matter is firm. “There is no place where a role model for young men and women, even if not convicted – who took part in such degrading activity, should play in a team that I am a fan of,” he told me. “No. Not interested in a noble.”
Maider also heard about the comparison between Atzili and Eliran Atar, one who played for Maccabi Haifa (remember) – and he points out the differences. “Atar apologized and took full responsibility for the story. He spoke many times about the stain and the image that stuck in it. Noble and Micha? They did not do it. I only heard from them crickets and an apology for the curve, which is actually ‘I blame’ the girls. They blamed the girls, without Take a millimeter of responsibility, and after half a year it should be fine? “.
Finally, Maider surprised and said: “Yes, he can come to Maccabi Haifa. He will sign for 3 seasons and donate the entire salary of the first season to 2 organizations that help women and children victims of violence and sexual assault. Then I will warm his shirt before every game even if Must”.
On the other hand, there is also the opposite opinion: Lior Sukenik, 33, is also a green fan of many years – thinks a noble can also be the way to a solution. “I do not clear the acts he did,” he stressed in a conversation with me, “but once the criminal case is closed – there should be no impediment to signing him. In the past he played a player who was convicted of crimes. Over the years Maccabi Haifa has stories of players and staff not aligning with ethical codes. And not yet the sword of the world. “
“Noble should play for Maccabi Haifa for a professional reason: he is a senior Israeli, an experienced player in the league, with proven numbers in recent years. I would be very happy if he would be with us, while at the same time as an educational act he volunteers with youth at risk.” It is important to note that the position of the majority is not clear here. In surveys conducted in other media, it was found that most Maccabi Haifa fans would be happy about such a move. On the other hand, some of the fans organized a protest demonstration in front of the house of the owner Yaakov Shachar, under the heading – “We do not want the noble in Haifa.”
Beitar Jerusalem
Here, too, there is a clear context that against his background the interest grew in Noble (even more so around the generation of Micah, who was his partner in the story – since Noble is probably on his way to Carmel). Betar, as I recall, is – perhaps – at the dawn of a new era: Hamed bin Khalifa has acquired 50% of the club, and Betar is once again interested in challenging the high top. A legionnaire of Micha’s type, certainly for a team that does not have a lot of order or players who know how to move a ball, can certainly help. And here, as always, the moral problem begins.
Or Cohen, A Betar fan, addressed the moral issue by saying: “For me the act was wrong, but not that it would make me disqualify them completely. I expect them to make it clear that this is a wrong act, but they have already received their punishment in terms of image, and the fact that the very potential arrival of a nobleman to Maccabi Haifa creates noise and controversy around it only in this respect. I understand who would be upset if they signed with Betar, but I do not share that. “
On the professional subject, Cohen is unequivocal: “Once Moshe celebrates talking about the fact that Betar must compete for the championship, the road begins with signing players like Micha and Atzili. If Maccabi Haifa signs a player like a noble without a stubborn struggle on our part, it will lead to questions about how much a celebrant believes in his statements. This is an uncommon opportunity to bring in senior Israelis, and it cannot be given up. “
From the other side of the barricade, standing Effie Gorodzer – He is also a fan, who thinks that Noble or Micha should not play in Betar. “It may sound pretentious,” Gorodzer told me, “but I want players in my club to be role models first. What did Yaakov Shachar say? The person before the actor. This is something I believe in, and in Israel in general – and in Betar in particular – this issue tends to be ignored. At least not in the current situation. “
“Zero taking responsibility on their part, and a lack of apology, shows that in their eyes they did nothing wrong,” Gorodzer concludes. On the professional issue as well, Gorodzer disagrees with the accepted position: “The qualities of a nobleman are very clear, but this is not the most urgent position at the moment. A brake, back contact and more left-back are required in our situation. less fitting”.
