24 years after the “Lace Game”, Ethan Tayeb still does not forget the scar. The crowd noise and fan protests led to a not-so-simple mental confrontation for Tayeb, who spoke openly about the situation he was facing.
“I left football, it does not interest me. It is difficult for me to be in this field. I want to run for mayor of Beit She’an, and if I choose then I will invest in football. There is a lot of crowd for this team, of 7,000 or 8,000 spectators. “Very injured. One minute ruined my career.”
“I talked to a policeman who was in that game 24 years ago, and together we remembered what was on the grass in those minutes before the goal, it was not easy. Hapoel Tel Aviv does not interest me. I was just cruelly hit. We were marked as a goal to get me out of football. Hapoel Tel Aviv took on a project that I will not be in the Premier League. For example, Hapoel Tel Aviv gave six players to Herzliya just so I would not get there. “
What did you think about during the game?
“In the game, I only thought about how I would start my escape from the field. If it had been 2: 2 against Betar Jerusalem, a disaster would have happened.”
Do you think gaming happenings happen today?
“It is very easy for a team to lose to a team that does not want to make an effort. No investigation will help, whoever wants not to make an effort, just does not make an effort. 24 years have passed, and they still continue to hurt me and say I did things. The most powerful and beloved in the media, I do not want to hear my side. “
24 years later, are you still reminded of that?
“I am remembered as a player who did great things in football, who scored goals who was an outstanding player. Whoever remembers the laces, it is poor and lonely people who do not know the truth. Everything is bullshit. I am the victim of this case. Everyone who hit me, I see where he is. “One does not understand the intensity of the harm done to me and my family. My children have gone through hell.”
How will they remember Eitan Tayeb in Israeli football?
“Anyone who understands football knows what a player I was. Anyone who wants to believe false stories, let him believe. To this day I am willing to go to the polygraph and come out telling the truth.”