Referees Association Backs VAR Call for Tiberias Penalty

The Israeli Referees Association has publicly supported the VAR decision to award a penalty to Tiberias FC during a recent match, following criticism from Maccabi Haifa.

Maccabi Haifa had protested the involvement of VAR referee Shlomi Ben Abraham, claiming his intervention was unwarranted. However, the Referees Association confirmed that Ben Abraham's decision to review and award the penalty for a handball by Maccabi Haifa's Nigel Lonwijk was justified.

"The defender jumped and blocked the ball's flight towards the goal, with his hand in an unnatural position, increasing the size of his body area justifiably," the Association stated regarding the handball incident.

Sources within the Association criticized the trend of clubs attempting to disqualify referees, stating, "It has become a wrong trend for teams to ask to disqualify referees. They should focus on football and not on criticism that has no connection to reality. Teams will not decide who will officiate and who will sit as a VAR referee." This sentiment was also conveyed in recent meetings by the Association's chairman, Giora Inbar.

In related news, Orel Grinfeld will lead an Israeli officiating team for the UEFA Nations League match between Georgia and Northern Ireland. Roey Hassan and Idan Yarkoni will serve as assistant referees, Shnir Levy as the fourth official, and Eli Hachmon and Gal Leibovitz will be the VAR officials.