Voice of Jewish Sport: Listening to the gaffers as they have their say…

TODAY WE give Jewish Maccabi football managers the chance to have their say on Maccabi Sunday Jewish football. The first time such a piece has been undertaken, the purpose of it wasn’t to undermine the League’s management committee – who do a fantastic job (illustrated by a whopping 80 percent of those managers who responded saying they think the League is well organised and run) – but rather give managers the chance to air their views and opinions on the game. Not wishing to draw upon any negatives, to cause controversy, or show a lack of respect to the League, the idea – as was the case behind our interview with referees at the turn of the year – was to allow managers to have their say in a constructive, informative, and who knows, even useful way. Issues are discussed, maybe points will be taken on board and perhaps it will even stimulate debate? This week focusses on manager’s responding to answers put forward to them by us, next week, they discuss some small tweaks that they’d like to see. To coin a phrase from FIFA, it’s all “For the good of the Game.”

SPECIAL REPORT: MANAGERS HAVE THEIR SAY ON JEWISH FOOTBALL:

HAVING MADE a song and dance about how he would ensure the FIFA Congress voted on banning Israel from international football, Jibril Rajoub, the head of the Palestinian Football Association who put forward the motion, left it to deep in stoppage time before withdrawing it on Friday afternoon. Saying he wouldn’t back down as he had previously, that’s exactly what he did do, though there were of course conditions to this. The creation of a committee to look at “Palestinian rights’ was a vote he did actually get passed, and ended with a handshake between him and the IFA chairman Ofer Eini. That though didn’t sit well with Palestinian’s who called Rajoub “a traitor” for his late U-turn. Angry protestors hacked the PFA’s website, an online petition was set up to get Rajoub fired from his post, while others launched a campaign titled “Red Card for Jibril Rajoub.” Almost as unpopular as Sepp Blatter, will Rajoub follow the outgoing FIFA president?