Betar, Bnei Sakhnin fans point fingers - at the police

By ORLY HALPERN, JEREMY LAST
For the first time, Bnei Sakhnin, the soccer team from an Arab town in the Lower Galilee, and Betar Jerusalem, whose fans are infamous for expressing anti-Arab feelings, agree on something. It was the police's fault. The stone throwing, face bashing, and soccer stadium wrecking that occurred following the Premier League match between the two teams at Sakhnin's new Doha Stadium on Sunday night could have been avoided, they all said. "Both sides didn't act nicely but the police and the security should have been prepared for this," Betar spokesman Dror Markowitz told The Jerusalem Post. "Who is responsible for all this? The police," Lufa Kadosh, the Jewish coach of Bnei Sakhnin, said. The police made the tactical mistake of releasing the Bnei Sakhnin fans from the stadium before releasing the Betar fans, said people from both sides. On Monday, Police Insp.-Gen. Moshe Karadi appointed a senior officer to investigate the police deployment at the match. Internal Security Minister Gideon Ezra said the police might need to take disciplinary action against senior officers who commanded the 350 policemen at the stadium. See full story, Page 12.