Referees Committee Admits Crucial Errors in Maccabi Tel Aviv vs. Hapoel Be'er Sheva Match

The Israeli Referees Committee has published its findings on key incidents during the recent 4-1 victory of Maccabi Tel Aviv over Hapoel Be'er Sheva, acknowledging two critical errors that significantly impacted the game. The committee unequivocally stated that Hapoel Be'er Sheva was wronged when a penalty was not awarded in the 19th minute. The VAR team was criticized for failing to intervene when a handball offense occurred in the box, noting that the defender's raised hand increased his body's surface area.

Regarding a controversial decision involving Maccabi Tel Aviv, the committee found that a goal scored by Dor Peretz should have been allowed. The referee, Yigal Fried, was criticized for not playing the advantage rule after an apparent foul on Ester Sukler, which led to a penalty kick instead of allowing the goal. The committee explained that the VAR official supported the penalty decision due to a perceived, though unclear, contact between the goalkeeper's foot and the attacker's foot, adhering to the protocol of not intervening unless there is a clear error.

The committee's conclusions suggest that both teams were negatively affected by officiating mistakes, with specific emphasis on the missed penalty for Hapoel Be'er Sheva and the disallowed goal for Maccabi Tel Aviv.