Most Jewish football games were postponed so players could attend the rallies in London and Manchester.
Only nine matches were played in the MSFL, MJSL and Masters Leagues following an agreement between the league and teams. But there was no blanket postponement of fixtures.
Stuart Cohen, vice-chairman of the JC MSFL, said: “We gave teams the freedom of choice to decide whether or not they wanted their game played. We had to take into account the 1,300 registered players, and agreed that if a side could not field a starting 11 because players wanted to attend the rally then we would postpone the fixture without penalising the team.”
However, Zvi Noé, manager of Hendon United C, says he is facing a fine. Ten of his players told Noé that they wanted to attend the rally, forcing him to tell the league and ask for a postponement.
He says he was told the team would be fined for cancelling the fixture, although he could appeal.
He said: “I signed up to the full mission statement of the MSFL, which includes the strengthening of Jewish continuity by promoting football and emphasising the importance of the centrality of Israel, something the MSFL very rarely has the chance to act upon. That’s what upsets me.”
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