Maccabi Tel Aviv Shareholder Reveals Internal Emails Amid Ownership Dispute

Shareholder Richard Deytz has publicly released internal email correspondence with Maccabi Tel Aviv's professional manager, Claudio Coldebella, and other shareholders, alleging a dispute over the team's ownership and the search for a new player. Deytz stated on October 30 that Oudi Recanati holds a controlling 58% stake and that Recanati approved all summer signings without consulting him, often ignoring his input. Deytz questioned why his opinion would be necessary now for a mid-season signing if it wasn't for summer acquisitions.

Deytz shared emails to provide transparency amid the ongoing ownership battle, which is heading to arbitration. He detailed that after player Lundberg was injured on October 20, he received no updates on new player searches for five days. He contrasted this with previous years when all shareholders would immediately discuss such matters.

According to Deytz, Coldebella was instructed to find a "young and relatively cheap" player with development potential, likely from the Winner League, with these instructions originating from Shimon or Oudi Recanati. After Coldebella presented a shortlist of four players and discussed about 25 others, Deytz responded within three hours with feedback and urged swift decisions. He specifically asked Coldebella for actionable recommendations to narrow down options and decide on a player.

Only after Deytz explicitly supported moving quickly to sign a new player did Shimon and Oudi Recanati express their willingness to proceed. Deytz found it peculiar that they did not respond to his entire email thread, suggesting it might have been an attempt to create a false narrative.