Maccabi Tel Aviv Taunts Hapoel Owner After Title Win

Maccabi Tel Aviv won its 2025-26 Israeli basketball championship on Tuesday night, beating Hapoel Tel Aviv in a dramatic final and taking the playoff series 3-1. The celebration came at Hapoel’s home arena, adding to the sting of the defeat in the biggest rivalry in Israeli basketball.

Hapoel responded immediately after the buzzer by blasting its anthem, "Le'olam Lo Titz'i Levad" (“You’ll Never Walk Alone”), over the hall’s speakers as the yellow-clad Maccabi players began celebrating. Maccabi then fired back on social media, posting on X an image of a gold-and-blue watch with the caption, "What time is it for you?" The post was widely understood as a jab at Hapoel owner Ofer Yannay.

The dig referenced a report published before the final by the Serbian site Mozart, which said Yannay had offered Hapoel players a lavish incentive: each player could choose a luxury Audemars Piguet Royal Oak watch worth at least 50,000 euros. According to the report, the owner promised the watches would become the players’ personal property if the team stayed united, overcame its crisis, and ultimately won the championship.

The article was published by Sport 5 on June 23, 2026 at 23:14, after the final result was sealed and both clubs reacted to the outcome in their own way.