The owner of Maccabi Haifa, Yaakov Shahar, spoke today (Thursday) at the press conference held by Shino Zoertz ahead of the elections for the chairman of the football association against Oren Hasson, and did not spare his criticism of the opposing candidate. In his speech, Shahar said: “I don’t like the way Oren chose to clash and fight, they offered me to be the chairman before Oren and after him – it doesn’t interest me.”
Dawn Petah: “First of all, I have nothing personal against Oren, my joining Shino is for the purpose of changing the system, not this or that person. I have been playing football since I was 12. I was as a player, then as a coach, for decades as an owner, throughout this period things change. In the thirty years that I have been the owner of Maccabi Haifa, we have made so many changes to move forward. On the other hand, since I was a child, I don’t see any change in the way people are chosen for the association. Everything is the same.”
The owner of Maccabi Haifa also added: “When they presented me with a prize that I believe in, I immediately told him that it suited me and I joined him. He talks about a change that has not been made in football. What speaks to me is not whether we win or lose, the method in football needs to change. Bring in people who have absolutely nothing to do with football and it’s time to change that. I believe Shino will get the right power to change and we will help him.
“I don’t like the way Oren chose to fight back and win, but it’s no longer my business. I saw that he attacked the big teams. No one knows how many times I was offered to be the chairman of the association, long before Oren was there. We want to improve football, and I am not interested in one person or another. You can ask the former chairman of the association, that whenever he was short of money and I would receive a grant from UEFA, I would give.”
Shahar continued: “The association works from the funds taken from the management of professional football. And where does professional football get the money? If I have to pay 10% on tickets I sell, then who owns the association? If not the big groups? So we need to take over the association? Isn’t that absurd. Oren thought I would be with him and he is disappointed that I won’t.”
Shahar said about the state of the leagues in Israel: “Currently there are two professional leagues, a total of 30 teams. I was on Dodi Cohen’s committee. The committee that was established at the time for improvement gave recommendations, some of which were implemented, one of which was to reduce the leagues to 12 teams in the Premier League, 12 in the national league and create the intermediate league, the national league that used to be. 36 professional teams instead of 30.
“Is it possible that in a new stadium in Petah Tikva, half the country will play because there are no fields to play on? So things have to have criteria, those who do not meet the criteria, can be first in the national league, but cannot be in the Premier League. If there are many stadiums and 15-18 teams meet the criteria, then there will be a league like in Spain.”
