Beitar cans Cohen after dismal start to campaign

Cohen is the fourth coach to be fired or resign this season, joining Rafi Cohen (Hapoel Ramat Hasharon), Moshe Sinai (Maccabi Petah Tikva) and Dror Kashtan (Bnei Yehuda).

By ALLON SINAI
Beitar Jerusalem coach Eli Cohen is fired by owner Eli Tabib (photo credit: Asaf Kliger)
Beitar Jerusalem coach Eli Cohen is fired by owner Eli Tabib
(photo credit: Asaf Kliger)
Exactly one week after releasing a statement calling for fans to rally behind the team and claiming that he isn’t even considering replacing the coach, Beitar Jerusalem owner Eli Tabib sacked Eli Cohen on Tuesday morning.
Tabib didn’t even notify Cohen in person of his decision, choosing instead to delegate the awkward responsibility to his representative at the club, Nir Shalom.
Since last week’s announcement, Beitar suffered a 1-0 defeat at Ashdod SC on Saturday, dropping to 10th place in the standings with its third straight loss. Jerusalem currently has 14 points from 11 matches, winning four games, while losing five and drawing a pair.
However, after saying last week that he was “personally offended” by the calls from the stands against the coach and that he was “pleased with Cohen’s work,” it is hard to make sense of Tabib’s latest bewildering decision.
“I decided to part ways with Cohen in light of our recent matches,” said Tabib on Tuesday.
“We haven’t been playing well. The fans did not influence my decision.
“This is a professional decision.
It has nothing to do with the fans or Haim Revivo.
We haven’t been playing well for a while, not only in our last match. This doesn’t mean that Eli Cohen isn’t a good coach. It just means that I had to shake up the club and that’s why I did it.”
Tabib fired Haim Revivo, who was brought in to help him run the club, on Sunday, with the Israel national team legend claiming that Cohen leaks club secrets to the media and that there was no chance he would end the season at Beitar.
Cohen is the fourth coach to be fired or resign this season, joining Rafi Cohen (Hapoel Ramat Hasharon), Moshe Sinai (Maccabi Petah Tikva) and Dror Kashtan (Bnei Yehuda).
“Considering the offseason the club experienced, I think the team has exceeded expectations and is in a good position,” said Cohen.
Cohen’s assistant, David Amsalem, will take charge on an interim basis, with Nitzan Shirazi and Roni Levy among the early candidates to be named as the next coach.