Did Israel’s soccer team use the ‘dark arts’ to dodge defeat?
Published September 9, 2015
Israel’s Tal Ben Haim celebrating his goal against Cyprus during the Euro 2016 qualifying match between Cyprus and Israel, at the GSP stadium, in Nicosia, Cyprus, Friday, Oct. 10, 2014. (Petros Karadjias/AP Images)
Israeli soccer player Tal Ben-Haim may be a witch, according to the British press.
In a match Sunday between the Israel and Wales national soccer teams, the center back, who plays for Maccabi Tel Aviv at home, threw peculiar hand gestures at the ball before his opponent took a free kick. Moments later, Wales striker Gareth Bale rocketed the place kick over the goal, and the match ended in a 0-0 draw.
According to Wales Online, Bale’s missed opportunity was the effect of a “malevolent spell” which cursed the ball, preventing it from reaching the back of the net. The Independent described Ben-Haim as employing the “dark arts.”
Bale, a star for Real Madrid, is usually a reliable scorer in the clutch. Whatever the cause of his miss, Wales will now have to wait until October, when they play Bosnia and Andorra, to score enough points to quality for the Euro 2016 soccer competition, which will be held in France next summer.
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