Yanay says game officials misread fan incident, calls systems “broken”

Hours before the second game between Hapoel Tel Aviv and Maccabi Tel Aviv, Hapoel owner Ofer Yanay addressed the confrontation between Jalen Hood-Schifino and a Hapoel fan during the first game. Yanay said the fan did not curse at Hood-Schifino, and argued that the incident was wrongly described in official reports.

“I read the reports from the Basketball Association supervisor and the Premier League, everyone read what was not there,” Yanay said. He said he spoke with Dave Loubetzki, who was sitting behind the fan, and was told the fan said to Hood-Schifino, “Go Home.” “He did not curse. How is that possible?” Yanay asked.

Yanay also questioned why the association’s prosecutor did not remove Hood-Schifino, Oshae Brissett, and Will Ryman, saying, “That is the rule. I read the rules, everyone is describing a reality that did not happen.” He added that a league representative, whom he identified as the brother of a referee, said the fan had cursed even though he was sitting on the other side of the court. “I asked him, ‘How do you see that he cursed? Do you know how to read lips?’ He had no answer. I asked him to change the report.”

He concluded that he has been focusing heavily on the matter and said, “The systems are broken.” He then asked who broke them, how badly they were broken, and in what ways, before saying, “You understand.”