JERUSALEM (JTA) — Hundreds of fans of the Beitar Jerusalem soccer team walked out of the stadium after a Muslim player, Zaur Sadayev, scored his first goal.
Sadayev, a Chechen Muslim who recently joined the squad, scored in the second half of Sunday’s game against Maccabi Netanya. Sadayev, a forward, was cheered by the majority of the Beitar Jerusalem fans that remained in the stands.
The game ended in a 1-1 tie. Beitar Jerusalem has lost four of its past five games.
Sadayev and another player from the Chechen Terek Gorzny team joined Beitar Jerusalem at the beginning of February amid protests from nationalist fans.
In recent weeks, fans have been removed from games for chanting anti-Arab and racist slogans.
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