A new investigation has shed light on the storm surrounding Ironi Tiberias, after M.S. Ashdod filed an official complaint with the Israeli Football Association over an alleged doping violation. The dispute centers on saline intravenous treatment used for recovery, and on a photo and receipt from Tiberias’s locker room that, according to Ashdod, sparked the case.
The article explains that the Anti-Doping Agency allows an IV of up to 100cc. Any amount above that can mask banned substances and therefore counts as an offense. Tiberias says the staff bought a one-liter package of saline for 40 shekels because that is how the product is sold, not because they used that amount. The club says no player received more than 40cc, and internal checks found that no treatment lasted more than 15 minutes, making it impossible to exceed the permitted limit. Tiberias also says the saline used was discarded after treatment.
According to Tiberias, six players were involved in the procedure, two stopped after one minute and four completed it, with fitness coaches and medical staff present throughout. The key trigger for Ashdod’s complaint was a leaked locker-room image of the saline package and the receipt, which Ashdod obtained and used as evidence. Ashdod believes there was excessive use, while Tiberias insists the full liter was never used. Tiberias suspects the leak came from former club associates who left in the summer and may have had an interest in harming the team.
Ashdod says it is determined to pursue the case to the end and, amid questions in recent weeks over why it had not hired a coach, the club now says it will appoint one only for the Premier League, not the National League, because it expects to be in the top division if the case goes its way. The Football Association is continuing its quiet investigation and is trying to recruit a state witness, with sources saying there is a positive chance one will be found. Tiberias plans to fight back legally, led again by lawyer Guy Bousi, who previously headed its battle against relegation.
