Cohen began his playing career with Maccabi Tel Aviv before joining Liverpool for a fee of £200,000 in July 1979.[1] He struggled to establish himself as a regular at Anfield and was released in November 1981, rejoining Maccabi.[1] On September 20, 1980 Cohen stirred up controversy when he decided to play in Liverpool's away fixture versus Southampton F.C. which fell on the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur. Liverpool drew with Southampton 2-2 in front of 24,085 spectators and Cohen was lambasted by the Israeli media for playing.[2] He returned to the UK in 1987 when he had a brief spell under former Liverpool teammate Graeme Souness at Rangers,[1] before ending his career with Maccabi Netanya.
He also played for the Israeli national team 52 times, scoring 3 goals. His son Tamir is currently an international professional footballer who plays for Bolton Wanderers F.C. in the Premier League and the Israeli national team.
Cohen was seriously injured in a motorbike crash on 20 December 2010. He was taken to Aviv’s Ichilov Hospital, where he was immediately taken into surgery.
