Hapoel Tel Aviv owner lashes out over derby fallout and league conduct

Hapoel Tel Aviv owner Ofer Yannay responded to the Tel Aviv derby controversy after the federation prosecutor decided to indict Hapoel following an incident involving Jalen Hood and a Hapoel Tel Aviv fan. In a message to supporters, Yannay said he and the players had spoken and that the team would answer on the court, while fans should simply come out and support the club.

Yannay said the season had been difficult and that Hapoel was now in the championship finals. “There is one thing I am certain of, if we win the championship, it will be because we are good at basketball and not because someone helped us,” he said.

He argued that the system meant to be fair and objective had not acted properly in recent weeks. As an example, he cited the decision to replay a game after Jerusalem did not return to continue playing. He also described a separate morning incident in which, he said, a 71-year-old Jewish man was approached by two or three young, large, strong men, and one of them knocked off his glasses, frightening him and leaving him unable to recover overnight.

According to Yannay, the man later saw a doctor, who told him, “Your season is over.” He said the federation prosecutor thinks he should be the one on trial, rather than the players who attacked the man and acted outside the rules of the court. Yannay concluded that Hapoel would do everything it could to compete and win through sport, competitiveness and fair play, adding that there were not many games left in the long season.