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Fans of top Israeli club Beitar Jerusalem have, over the years, developed a reputation for racist attitudes.
Anti-Islamic chanting, banners and general bad fan behaviour has been common, especially when they play Arab sides or teams with one or two Arab or Muslim players.
Last weekend it was announced that their owner, Russian-Israeli billionaire Arkady Gaydamak, had signed two new players from Russian side Terek Grozny, both of them Chechen Muslims.
The Beitar fans were quick to react and made it clear, both in the stadium and then via social media outlets, that they will not accept Zaur Sadayev, 23, and Gabriel Kadiev, 19, in the team.
However, Gaydamak has not backed down and the pair were presented at a press conference in Jerusalem on Wednesday evening.
"I am very happy to be here , I will make the fans happy."
The hard-core supporters of Beitar Jerusalem call themselves 'La Familia' and are proud of the fact that theirs is the only team in the Israel Premier League that has never had an Arab player on the books.
And the club has been repeatedly penalised for anti-Arab and racist chanting from the terraces.
Avigail Sharabi, a member of 'La Familia' isn't alone in not welcoming the new signings:
"Arkady Gaydamak decided on Saturday morning to drop a bomb on Israeli football and of course on Beitar Jerusalem, and he announced that he had signed two Muslim Chechens to the side. This news was met with anger, a great deal of anger among the fans. In Beitar Jerusalem ever since it was founded there has never been an Arab Muslim player."
The racism issue is deflecting attention from other curious opinions on why Gaydamak wants Sadayev and Kadiev on his team, with neither player coming with much of a pedigree.
Gaydamak meanwhile has denounced the angry Beitar fans as a 'Small minority of uneducated people who don't even understand the slogans they are shouting.'
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