Maccabi Haifa's Leading Striker Andrea Novakovic Remains Unregistered and Ineligible to Play

Maccabi Haifa's new striker, Andrea Novakovic, is still unable to be registered to play in official matches, including the Toto Cup ranking games, due to the club exceeding the foreign player limit. Currently, Haifa has eight foreign players registered, which prevents Novakovic, a Serbian forward, from being added to the squad. Additionally, the registration of Nigel Lonwijk further blocks Novakovic from even participating as a trial player in the Toto Cup matches. Novakovic was expected to be Haifa's main striker this season, and his inability to play is hampering the team's preparation for the league, as the Toto Cup games were intended to help him gain match fitness. Initially, Novakovic was sidelined by a virus, but even after his recovery, he remains ineligible to play. The club aims to resolve this by transferring Peter Agaba out of the squad, which would free up a foreign player slot. However, there is currently no plan to remove Pedro from the roster until a final decision is made regarding the Brazilian defender's future with the team.