Ofer Yanai, one of the owners of Hapoel Tel Aviv, has filed a defamation lawsuit against the heads of the referees association, demanding 1,170,351 shekels. The suit was reported on June 17, 2026, at 12:09, and was submitted by Yanai against Assaf Shalem, the chairman of the referees association, and Moshe Biton, the chairman of its professional committee.
According to the lawsuit, Yanai says he is being subjected to an ongoing campaign of smear and delegitimization. The filing accuses the association’s leadership of harming his reputation and presents the claim as a response to that alleged campaign.
The report says the lawsuit was made public by representatives of Hapoel Tel Aviv’s owners, and that the document is sharply worded against the association’s top officials. No further details of the allegations or the events behind the suit were included in the report, which said more information would follow.
