Hapoel Jerusalem FC Outraged Over Refereeing After Latest Loss

Hapoel Jerusalem FC is expressing significant frustration and anger following their 1-0 defeat to Hapoel Petah Tikva on Saturday, their second consecutive loss to start the season. The team, which previously suffered a 5-0 loss to Maccabi Tel Aviv, feels they were unfairly treated by the officiating.

Club officials lamented their performance, stating, "We were full throttle in neutral. We controlled the game without managing to create truly dangerous chances." They also acknowledged their attempt to implement a new, less defensive playing style, admitting it comes at a cost and that they are accustomed to disappointing season starts, hoping to improve quickly.

The primary source of their ire was a disallowed penalty call. The team believes a penalty should have been awarded, especially after VAR review. A club representative stated, "In recent years, there have been five such cases where a referee did not accept the VAR decision. Three of them were against Hapoel Jerusalem. Two of them were by Foxman." They questioned, "How long will we tolerate this arbitrariness?! How long will we tolerate a referees' committee that says too late that we were right? There was a million percent penalty."

Despite their grievances, Hapoel Jerusalem acknowledged that these are not excuses and that they should have performed better. They are focused on rectifying their performance in their upcoming match against Kiryat Shmona next Saturday.

In addition to on-field frustrations, the club is still aiming to strengthen its squad before the transfer window closes, hoping to sign another foreign attacking player.