Longtime Business Partners Clash Over Millions in Tiberias Football Club Dispute

Miki Bitan and Aryeh Kalmanzon, business partners for 30 years with shared assets including real estate and the insurance company Dorot, are embroiled in a major dispute centered on their joint ownership of the Tiberias football club. Over the past decade, they acquired the club from the bottom of Liga Alef and promoted it to the Premier League. Bitan controls the football association with a board mostly composed of his family members.

The conflict escalated after an attractive offer to buy half of Dorot's shares for about 20 million shekels was presented to the company. Bitan expected to receive a third of the proceeds, based on his informal understanding of holding one-third of the shares, while Kalmanzon, who officially owns two-thirds, rejected this claim, stating Bitan only receives profits from daily operations, not from sales. This disagreement led to a breakdown in relations, legal battles, defamation claims, police complaints, and possible investigations.

Bitan has been banned from football activities for seven years due to a dual contract scandal but remains influential in the club through family members. Following the fallout, Kalmanzon has become the sole decision-maker and has instructed associates to sever ties with Bitan. Bitan is also demanding reimbursement of two million shekels for personal expenses related to the club.

The dispute is causing significant changes at Tiberias, including the expected removal of Bitan's loyalists and uncertainty over the future of coach Eliran Hodeda, Bitan's close confidant implicated in the disciplinary saga that embroiled the club. An insider noted that until now, Bitan and Hodeda managed the club independently, occasionally letting Kalmanzon address players, but now Kalmanzon will exercise full control.