Tel Aviv football coach quits and leaves Israel over security fears related to Gaza war

Oscar Garcia, the coach for Tel Aviv-based Maccabi football club, has resigned along with his two assistants, Ruben Martinez and Fran Sanchez, because of the current security situation in Israel amidst the Israeli war on Gaza, the club said.

Arabs48 news website cited players in the team saying that the Spanish coach spoke to them about his decision to resign, demonstrating nervousness as he spoke, but wishing them success.

Officials at the club said that Garcia’s family pressured him to quit coaching the Israeli team and leave the country, especially after his wife said on a social networking website that she was terrified when the Palestinian resistance fired rockets at Tel Aviv.

An Israeli soccer tournament that was supposed to kick off last Saturday was delayed after the spokesperson for Hamas’s Ezzeddin Al-Qassam Brigades, Abu Ubaida, warned Israelis last week against crowding in public areas, especially football stadiums.

Source: Arabs48.com