Referees Association Backs VAR Decision Awarding Penalty to Tiberias

The Israeli Referees Association has fully backed VAR official Shlomi Ben-Avraham following criticism from Maccabi Haifa regarding a penalty awarded to Hapoel Tiberias. The association confirmed that Ben-Avraham's intervention was justified in the incident where a handball by Nigel Lonwijk led to the penalty.

According to the association's statement, the defender's arm was in an unnatural position, increasing his body's volume as he blocked a shot, thus warranting the penalty. This decision came after Maccabi Haifa's management reportedly complained about Ben-Avraham's performance as the VAR official.

A source within the association criticized the trend of clubs attempting to disqualify referees, stating, "It has become a wrong trend for clubs to ask to disqualify referees. They should focus on football and not on criticism that has no connection to reality. Clubs will not decide who will officiate and who will sit as a VAR official." 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, with Snir Levy as the fourth official. Eli Hachmon and Gal Leibovitz will be the VAR officials for this international fixture.