Video Shows Israeli Soccer Player Sexually Assaulting Unconscious Woman
Antony Varenne Image by Beitar Jerusalem FC
By Ari Feldman March 16, 2018
A video apparently shows an Israeli soccer player sexually assaulting an unconscious woman, the Jewish Chronicle reported.
Antony Varenne, a forward for Beitar Jerusalem, can be seen in the video performing sex acts on the woman, who was passed out. He and other men in the video appear to be mocking her. The other men in the room have not been identified. It appears to have been filmed before Varenne joined Beitar, several years ago.
Varenne apologized to his teammates in an interview with Mako News, saying he was “embarrassed and sorry. I made a mistake.”
The Israeli Football Association has not sought to bring Varenne in for a disciplinary hearing, instead saying in a statement, “we expect soccer players, and everyone else, to behave properly and with respect.” Beitar Jerusalem also said it would take no action against Varenne.
Michal Rozin, a member of the left-wing Meretz party, called the IFA’s response “quibbling.”
“Worse, the team not only did not produce a proper condemnation, they announced that [Varenne] would play on Saturday,” Rozin said.
Contact Ari Feldman at [email protected] or on Twitter @aefeldman
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we need 500 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Our Goal: 500 gifts during our Passover Pledge Drive!
