Beitar Jerusalem owner Hogeg to sell soccer team, cites ungrateful, racist fans
Businessman Moshe Hogeg announced Thursday that he is selling Beitar Jerusalem, one of Israel’s most famous soccer teams, after three tumultuous years as owner that saw him confront an anti-Arab fanbase and try — but fail — to sell half of it to an Emirati businessman.
In a statement, Hogeg, 39, said that after consulting his family during the Rosh Hashanah festival he has decided to immediately leave Beitar and appoint lawyer Itzhak Yunger as a temporary trustee, citing the racist La Familia fan group as the reason.
“Beitar Jerusalem isn’t a business,” he wrote. “I and others before me have donated a lot of money to this club for its community. I have never asked for a medal or even a small thank-you. But on the other hand, with all due respect, it is unacceptable for me to donate massive sums every month, almost NIS 120 million ($37.5 million), and then when I enter the stadium to hear nonstop curses against me, my wife and even my children.”
I was never deterred by La Familia. I fought racism and violence without fear. I brought in a Muslim player and never gave up, even today,” he said. “This struggle isn’t stopping and will continue after me.”
Hogeg, a tech entrepreneur and cryptocurrency trader, bought Beitar in 2018 and said he set out to change its culture from the “very beginning.”
However, he faced backlash from the notoriously racist anti-Arab factions among the club’s fans after in 2020 he sold a 50 percent stake in the club to Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, a member of Abu Dhabi’s ruling family. Al Nahyan pledged to pump $90 million into the team in the coming decade.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/beitar-jerusalem-owner-hogeg-to-sell-soccer-team-cites-ungrateful-racist-fans/