Former Maccabi Haifa player blasts club over Haziza exit

Maccabi Haifa has confirmed that captain Dolev Haziza will not stay at the club, ending a run that began when he arrived from Beitar Tel Aviv Bat Yam in 2019 and included three league titles. The decision was reported by Sport 5 and discussed on Monday in the program "5 in the Air, News Room."\n\nFormer Haifa teammate Sun Menachem criticized both the sporting decision and, even more strongly, the way it was handled. He said that in the Israeli market, players like Haziza are hard to find and described him as an asset on and off the pitch, adding that Haziza always shows desire and intensity even when his performances are uneven.\n\nMenachem said he disliked that the matter reached the media and argued the club should have spoken to the captain privately. "They want to ignite the fire," he said, claiming the club was trying to shift attention elsewhere and that Haziza is not the reason for Haifa's problems. He also stressed that Haziza still has one more year left on his contract, saying, "What did it give? Who did it help?"\n\nHe called the farewell statement "embarrassing" and said there was a better way to handle the decision, especially after Haziza spent seven years at the club. Menachem added that chairman Yaakov Shahar values Haziza, that the player was surprised by the manner of his departure, and that if he were in Haziza's place, "I would be crying." He concluded that even if the sporting staff decided Haziza was not in their plans, that decision was legitimate, but the public handling was not.