Israel soccer chief alleges widespread game fixing in third-tier league
Football Association calls for police intervention as some 40 players, officials and club owners are named as being involved in thrown games linked to illegal betting
Stuart Winer is a breaking news editor at The Times of Israel.
The head of Israel’s national soccer authority alleged massive game fixing that is said to have involved over half the clubs in a lower league.
At a press conference he called to make the announcement, Israel Football Association chairman Moshe Zuares said it was “a sad day for soccer, but a necessary one.”
It was, he continued, “a day in which we fulfilled everything that we committed to, a war till the end for everything that is important to sport. ”
The alleged fixing involved the League A North, which comprises the third level of Israeli soccer with League A South.
Zuares stressed that he was not talking about “rumors or speculation, but rather facts.”
He called for the involvement of the Israel Police to help the association clear up the game.
The IFA had hired two private investigation companies who spent six months probing the matter.
They found suspicions of rigged games and cooperation between clubs and teams, Zuares said.
Zuares said the IFA has asked its internal disciplinary court for the suspension of some 40 players and other professionals, as well as club owners.
They are suspected of unsportsmanlike conduct under aggravated circumstances, failure to report unsportsmanlike conduct, and violation of the association’s regulations.
יו"ר ההתאחדות לכדורגל שינו זוארץ הודיע כי הוגשה בקשה להשעיית 40 חשודים המעורבים בהטיית משחקים לטובת הימורים לא חוקיים בליגה א' צפון. המשחקים הנחשדים התרחשו בעונה שעברה ובעונה הנוכחית >> pic.twitter.com/naGIQgBC2C
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Some of those involved had played in the past for premier league teams. Among them is current MS Tira coach Ahmad Saba’a, who in 2011-2012 was the season’s top goal scorer while playing for Maccabi Netanya.
“We think of soccer as pure, but in practice the results are fixed behind closed doors,” Zuares lamented.
He said he would call a meeting of the association administration and ask for the cancellation of the league’s games, but noted it would require a court decision.
“We don’t have the authority to make a decision like that alone,” he explained.
Association prosecutor Gilad Berman told the briefing that the games were fixed via illegal gambling websites abroad.
Berman said half the teams in the league were involved in games that were allegedly fixed.
There is, he said, “a well-oiled system that operates in an organized and systematic manner that is fundamentally corrupting the sport we love, including young players.”
He said the evidence included recordings, notifications and messages sent between club owners during games. The sums of money ranged from NIS 10,000 ($2,812) to NIS 100,000 ($28,120) per game and dozens of games were involved.
Some suspects refused to take a polygraph test, while others did and failed, he said.
Berman noted that Israeli authorities are working with the Union of European Football Associations on the matter and urged the Israel Police to become involved.
The investigation was called after Fadi Mahamid, director of the Umm al-Fahm youth team, admitted to having fixed 13 games in the League A North during the 2023-2024 season. He gave a full confession, providing items to support his testimony as well as information about others involved in rigging games, the Kan public broadcaster reported.
