JERUSALEM (JTA) — The Beitar Jerusalem soccer team said it will stop playing on the Jewish Sabbath.
Eli Tabib, the team’s new owner, made the decision to stop playing from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday in order to allow its religious and traditional fans to attend home games, the team said in a statement issued Saturday.
Home games will be held on Saturday nights or weekdays, the statement said.
Beitar Jerusalem made headlines earlier this year with the signing of two Chechen Muslims that spurred fan protests and the torching of the team’s trophy room. Its fans also attacked several Arabs at Jerusalem’s Malha Mall earlier this year.
