American billionaires Sonny Kahn and Russell Galbut have pulled out of the deal to buy Hapoel Tel Aviv because the club plays on Shabbat.

Kahn and Galbut arrived in Israel last week, but withdrew their offer after spending Yom Kippur in Jerusalem.
Kahn said: “Rabbis pressured me not to do this deal.”

Hapoel said it would avoid playing on Shabbat but could not commit to never playing on Shabbat. The businessmen were also unhappy about the enormous media exposure buying the club gave them. They are donating NIS 2m to the club as a goodwill gesture.

Hapoel boss Eyal Berkovic said: “Clearly these people were not suited for Hapoel. We’ll find another buyer.”