JERUSALEM (JTA) – Former Israeli soccer star Avi Cohen has died in a Tel Aviv hospital, eight days after his motorcycle crashed into another vehicle.
Cohen played for the Israeli team Maccabi Tel Aviv in the 1970s, before moving to the English team Liverpool, with which he won both the English and European soccer titles.
Paramedics told Ynet that Cohen had been rushed to the hospital with severe head injuries, and that one of the reasons Cohen’s injury had proved fatal was because he was wearing an open bike helmet that did not cover his entire face. The helmet proved to be ineffective when the accident occurred.
In the week prior to Cohen’s death, as he lay in a coma, many soccer players and coaches, including ones who played with him in Liverpool, came to visit and support his family. In addition, the family invited many rabbis and religious leaders to recite prayers for Cohen’s survival.
Cohen’s family, including his son, Tamir, who is also a soccer player and who is currently playing in England, announced early Tuesday that there was no hope for his father’s survival and that the family was considering shutting off life support and donating his organs.
However, because of advice from rabbis, they chose to let Cohen continue on life support until his heart stopped on Tuesday afternoon.
Cohen’s funeral was held on Wednesday morning.
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