Jordan Shua Benched for Third Straight Match by Beitar Jerusalem

Beitar Jerusalem's star player, Jordan Shua, will start on the bench for the third consecutive game as the team faces Hapoel Haifa on Saturday. This marks the longest streak of Shua starting as a substitute in the Premier League since the beginning of the 2021/22 season. Shua's recent benching follows an incident after the match against Maccabi Petah Tikva, where he posted and then deleted a social media story stating he should start every game. In the 2024/25 season, Shua came off the bench in the final two regular-season games, but had started matches before and after those. If one counts consecutive games where Shua came off the bench after having previously started in the same season, the streak extends back to his first season with Beitar in 2019/20. In previous seasons, Shua has been a consistent starter, playing in 31 of 33 league games last season, 28 of 32 the season before, and 30 of 31 in 2023/24. Coach Almog Cohen opted to keep Shua on the bench, maintaining the attacking lineup that secured victories in the team's last two matches.