Israeli soccer matches on Saturday, long a national pastime, could soon be banned after a court ruling on a petition by religiously observant players against taking to the field during the Jewish Sabbath. Their refusal to participate in some matches that in previous years have been held on weekdays led an Israeli labour court to rule that without a special government waiver that allows companies to employ workers on the Sabbath, which runs from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday, soccer competitions on Saturdays are illegal.Israeli soccer leagues have operated for decades without such a permit, as part of a so-called "status quo". The arrangement between Israel's secular Jewish majority and religiously observant minority governs which businesses, public transport and places of entertainment can open on Saturdays.But as a result of the court decision last month, it is now up to Israeli Economy Minister Arye Deri, an ultra-Orthodox Jew, to decide whether to issue a soccer waiver.To do so would violate his own religious beliefs, but with soccer being the most popular sport in Israel, he runs the risk of angering many Israelis by cancelling matches on Saturdays, their only day off work.Income from the business surrounding soccer -- support staff, broadcasting, transportation, policing, stewarding and refreshments -- would all also be hit.In a move to build public pressure on Deri to sign the permit, the chairman of the Israel Football Association and other heads of the sport have threatened to cancel all organised soccer matches in the country this weekend. Unless they get the waiver, all fixtures this weekend would be banned.Some of the professional matches in Israel's two top leagues are held on Saturdays but hundreds of others involving non-professional teams are also played on the Sabbath.Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, an avid soccer fan, said on Wednesday that the Saturday games should go on."I think that the custom for the public in Israel is that on Saturday you go to synagogue and afterward you go to the (soccer stadium)," he said on Army Radio. "This is the status quo." ..