Irvoni Tiberias issued a sharp statement on Wednesday accusing M.S. Ashdod of misconduct in the doping case and of pressuring the Israel Football Association to take Ashdod’s place in the Premier League next season at Tiberias’ expense. The club said that as the investigation progresses, it has become clear that Ashdod figures recorded conversations with Tiberias officials and players and passed on screenshots about the day the allegedly prohibited injections were given.
According to the article, Ashdod’s actions created a major stir as it tried to survive in the Premier League for another season. Tiberias said there is a gap between testimony and proof of quantity, banned substance, or any other basis needed for a conviction.
The material supplied by Ashdod led to the questioning on Sunday of two people who worked for Tiberias last season. Their testimony convinced the Israel Football Association there was something substantial to the case, prompting it to send all the material to the Sports Anti-Doping Agency.
The association’s prosecutor will separately decide whether to indict the club in the disciplinary court based on the gathered evidence. The anti-doping agency will continue its own investigation and later decide whether to bring Tiberias to trial. After that, it will forward the findings to WADA for a final ruling.
