Jerusalem Soccer Club Wants to Rename Itself After Trump

Jerusalem, 13 May, 2018 (TPS) -- The owner of the Beitar Jerusalem soccer team said Sunday that he is renaming the team ‘Beitar Trump Jerusalem’ in order to thank the American President for moving the American Embassy to the capital.

Beitar’s owner Eli Tabib and his chairman Eli Ohana posted the announcement on the club’s Facebook page.  

“For 70 years,  Jerusalem awaited international recognition, until President Donald Trump, in a courageous move, recognized the city as the eternal capital of Israel. The Beitar Jerusalem soccer club, is happy to honor the President for his love and support with a gesture of our own. We have the greatest love for the president,” the post read.  

Beitar will require approval from the Israel Football Association to make the change official, not to mention that it may find itself having to pay royalties to use the Trump name which adorns hotels and casinos worldwide.   

Not all of the fans liked the idea.

“It would be much better if you would add the name of [Vladimir] Jabotinsky (the founder of the right-wing political Beitar movement] or [the late prime minister Menachem] Begin before you add the name of a foreigner only out of clear economic interests,” one fan wrote on Facebook.

“Dear Mr. Tabib. If you think that you can do whatever you like, we have news for you, and you will soon learn the strength of the Beitar fans. Your behavior is a bad joke, which may make others laugh, but we, as Beitar sympathizers, are especially sad,” wrote another.

Beitar lost in the Israeli FA Cup final to Hapoel Haifa earlier this week, and placed second in the Israeli Premier League behind champions Hapoel Beer Sheva.

The club is infamous for its nationalist La Familia fan group, which opposes Muslim players appearing for the team. An Arab player has never appeared for the club, which has often been penalized for the fans’ behavior.