Football
ESPN staff 9y

Hapoel and Maccabi Tel-Aviv match called off after fan attacks Eran Zahavi

The derby between Hapoel and Maccabi Tel-Aviv in the Israeli Premier League was abandoned on Monday as Maccabi midfielder Eran Zahavi was sent off for kicking a fan who had entered the pitch to attack him.

With the match level at 1-1 just 22 minutes into in the first half, a Hapoel fan leaped over the barriers and ran onto the pitch to confront Zahavi -- a former Hapoel star who had scored against his old club already.

After the pair squared up, both player and fan clashed before security dragged them apart.

For his part in the incident, referee Roi Reinshreiber showed Zahavi the red card -- an action that caused more fans to charge onto the pitch to disrupt the game. 

The match restarted, but fans continued to enter the field, leaving security forces with no option but to call off the match.

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