Poll: Half of Israelis think Betar should be punished for fans' behavior

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Over half of the Israeli public believes the Betar soccer team should be punished for an incident Sunday at which Betar fans booed and jeered during a moment of silence for slain prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, Channel 10 reported Tuesday. According to a TSN Teleseker poll, 53 percent of those asked said Betar should be punished for the incident at Kiryat Eliezer on Sunday. Forty percent said the team should not be punished, and 9% said they didn't know. When asked what consequences Betar should face, 54% said Betar fans should be barred from games, 16% said the team should be docked points, and 13% said it should be dropped to a lower league. Thirty-six percent of those polled said the incident had changed their opinion of Betar owner Arkadi Gaydamak for the worse, while 4% said their opinion of the Russian tycoon had improved and 37% said their opinion of him had not changed.