Ofer Yannay Slams Israeli Basketball After Hapoel Tel Aviv’s Title Loss

After Hapoel Tel Aviv lost Game 4 of the Israeli championship final series to Maccabi Tel Aviv on Tuesday night, owner Ofer Yannay delivered a long, combative postgame statement. He said the evening reflected both “what is wonderful and terrible” about Israeli basketball, praising the playoff series as a strong tactical and mental battle while condemning what he described as unfair conditions throughout the postseason.

Yannay argued that the competition in Israel is not played on equal terms. He said there had been a “headwind” from institutions that are supposed to be objective, and claimed, “This cannot continue.” He also attacked the conduct of officials, saying that “public systems” are behaving “like private ones,” and alleged that someone identified as Ami Biton was standing throughout games and giving instructions to referees.

He defended Hapoel coach Dimitris Itoudis, saying he had endured difficult situations all season and had shown loyalty to the club and to Israel in a difficult period. Yannay added that Itoudis will continue, and that the team wants to add more players. He said the club does things differently at a professional level, but claimed “the basketball is not flowing with us,” and referred to what he described as “absurd” situations involving league institutions, including a players’ strike.

Yannay said he does not want to give up on raising Hapoel’s level or on Israeli basketball itself. He said he plans to spend much of the summer trying to remove what he called the corrupt and unworthy elements from the sport, because, in his view, cleaning up the system is more important than winning the championship. He also criticized the return of fans to Drive In Arena as “tragic,” and said the watches he gave his players were deserved because, in his words, “they fought until the end” and “kept the unity.”