Tiberias Denies Doping Violation, Says IV Treatment Was Legal

The Israel Football Association received a formal complaint on Sunday from M.S. Ashdod’s lawyers alleging that Ironi Tiberias may have used banned intravenous treatments around the teams’ relegation playoff match. The case is now under investigation, with the National Anti-Doping Agency also involved.

Tiberias’ staff told Sport5 that the club did nothing wrong. “We did not do anything improper. We acted according to the rules,” they said, adding that the team gave an IV three days before the match in a dose of between 1 milliliter and 100 milliliters, which they said falls within permitted limits. They said they checked everything, wanted to “help and wake up the players,” and used only known quantities with no prohibited substances.

The club also said an IV with saline and potassium can be given up to 12 hours before a match, effectively acknowledging they tried to stimulate the players before the game. Under the rules, any IV exceeding 100 milliliters within 12 hours before a match is banned.

The match at Yud-Alef Stadium in Ashdod was played on May 3, and Tiberias won 3-0. Sambinya scored in the third minute, Andrei Batsu doubled the lead in the 61st minute, and Guy Hadida sealed the result in the 74th minute. Ashdod later finished the season relegated to Liga Leumit.