Hapoel Petah Tikva Appeals Technical Loss to Maccabi Netanya

In depth

Hapoel Petah Tikva is appealing the technical loss it suffered to Maccabi Netanya after it fielded 12 players simultaneously during the match. The club argues that the result should be decided on the field, and that the penalty is severe and disproportionate.

The club cites a precedent from Germany, involving Bayern Munich, in which the result was left unchanged. Head of the referees department Ziv Adler took responsibility for the incident and pointed to the referee team's responsibility for the failure. Attorney Ifergan said that no sporting advantage was created and that no one attempted to cheat.

A representative of Maccabi Netanya argued at the hearing that the circumstances of the incident were unusual, but not in Hapoel Petah Tikva's favor. The Supreme Court of Arbitration heard the appeal but has not yet ruled on it.