Ramzi Safouri

Safouri is from Jaffa and came through Hapoel Tel Aviv’s youth setup.[1][2] Teammate Shagiv Yehezkel said that the two had been friends since age eight and shared rooms while playing for Israel’s youth national teams.[1] Safouri later appeared for Hapoel Tel Aviv’s senior side; in 2013, he scored a late consolation goal in a 4–2 defeat to Maccabi Haifa at Bloomfield Stadium.[3]

Safouri’s club career included spells with Hapoel Tel Aviv and Bnei Sakhnin. In November 2016, he came off the bench for Sakhnin and scored an 85th-minute winner against Beitar Jerusalem at Teddy Stadium, helping secure a 1–0 victory that moved Sakhnin to seventh place.[4]

At Hapoel Be’er Sheva, Safouri’s role and output grew under coach Roni Levy. After a loan spell at M.S. Ashdod, he returned to Be’er Sheva; Levy later said that he had insisted on Safouri’s return and that the midfielder made a significant breakthrough in the early league matches.[5] In February 2021, Safouri clashed with Be’er Sheva supporters after a 3–0 loss to M.S. Ashdod and joined Ashdod on loan the following day, while Yehezkel moved in the opposite direction. Safouri later returned to Be’er Sheva, where his connection with Levy coincided with improved performances and standing with supporters.[6]

Safouri produced several notable goals for Be’er Sheva. In 2021, he scored from about 30 meters to equalize against Hapoel Hadera before halftime; Be’er Sheva went on to win 2–1.[7]

In November 2022, Safouri started for Israel in a friendly against Zambia and helped create the team’s first two goals: he passed to Dean David in the buildup to Tai Baribo’s goal, then took the corner that led to David’s header. He was substituted in the 73rd minute, with Israel winning 4–2.[8]

Safouri also spoke about Israel’s matches and team circumstances in June 2024. He said that the squad had found a match against Hungary difficult because it was their first game together and included many new players. He entered from the bench after Israel conceded its third goal; he said the substitutes helped prevent another goal and created threats at the other end.[9] After four hostages held in Gaza were brought home in an Israeli operation, Safouri said the news had brought the players joy and a boost before their game, and expressed hope that all the hostages would return.[9]

Safouri moved from Be’er Sheva to Antalyaspor in September 2023, two days before Yehezkel joined the Turkish club.[1] A May 2026 report described him as an Antalyaspor player who had made 24 appearances in the Turkish top division, scoring once, and starting in recent matches including against Galatasaray.[10]

Safouri’s shift into central midfield at Hapoel Be’er Sheva marked his clearest documented rise in output. After 15 league rounds in the 2021–22 season, he had scored seven goals and provided six assists, compared with four goals and one assist in the preceding full season. He had attempted 36 key passes, 18 of which reached their target, and taken 32 shots, 13 on target.[6] Levy said Be’er Sheva had selected Safouri ahead of Dor Micha on several occasions while also seeking a way to use both midfielders.[5]

In the May 2022 Israel State Cup final against Maccabi Haifa, Safouri scored Be’er Sheva’s opening goal in the 27th minute. The match finished 2–2, and Be’er Sheva won the penalty shootout 3–1. Safouri had been a doubt before the final, but said: “I told the staff that I was not going to sit on the sidelines and I wanted to play, which is what I did.”[11] He scored eight league goals the following season and contributed to Be’er Sheva’s goals in both legs of its Conference League tie against Panevėžys.[12] In June 2024, he scored his first goal for Israel’s senior national team and provided an assist in a 4–0 friendly victory over Belarus. Coach Ran Ben Shimon praised his display, saying, “Ramzi was excellent.”[13]

Safouri’s time at Be’er Sheva included a disciplinary incident in August 2023. After a dispute with teammate Shay Elias during a backgammon game, the club suspended Safouri from team activities until the following Sunday and said a disciplinary hearing would follow; he was also set to miss a Conference League qualifier against Levski Sofia.[12] A later interview with Yehezkel gave a different account of his own role: Yehezkel said he had been nearby, tried to separate Safouri and Elias, and was not a participant in the dispute.[1] The accounts do not establish every detail of the incident.

In Turkey, Safouri and Yehezkel sat out an Antalyaspor match after the Turkish league held a minute of silence for Palestinians killed in Gaza. The players said they would not participate in or attend what they described as “a ceremony intended to condemn the State of Israel,” and said they were proud to represent Israel’s national team.[14] A separate report said they chose not to travel with the club to a match in Gaziantep after learning a ceremony condemning Israel was planned there; Safouri later assisted the winning goal when Antalyaspor played Başakşehir.[2] These absences took place amid politically charged circumstances following the outbreak of the Israel–Hamas war.[2]