M.S. Ashdod will have a seat, but not a voice, in the disciplinary proceedings that could yet decide whether the club remains in the second tier or is handed back its place in Ligat Ha'al. The football association's disciplinary tribunal ruled on Ashdod's request to join the case against Ironi Tiberias only partially, ONE reported, granting the club observer status while refusing it any active role in the hearings.
The tribunal recognised Ashdod as an "interested party," meaning representatives can attend hearings and present the club's position in writing or in person. But the panel drew a firm line around what that status actually allows: Ashdod cannot cross-examine witnesses, cannot pose questions during proceedings and cannot otherwise intervene in the evidentiary process, according to ONE.
"Joining a party that is not the accused is an exceptional step that requires caution," the tribunal wrote in its decision, underlining that Ashdod's involvement would stay strictly limited to that of an onlooker rather than a participant with standing equal to the prosecution or the defence.
The tribunal also rejected Ashdod's separate request to speed up the timetable. A preliminary hearing remains scheduled for Wednesday, August 5, with dates for the evidentiary stage to be fixed only once that session takes place - not the accelerated, pre-season resolution Ashdod had been pushing for.
The case against Tiberias stems from what has become known in Israeli football as the "injections affair." The association's indictment, filed last month, accuses club officials of arranging saline injections for players in bulk - reportedly some 12 large bags totalling around a litre - administered without proper medical supervision and, the charge sheet alleges, under pressure applied to the players themselves.
Tiberias faces charges including assisting the use of prohibited and stimulant substances under aggravated circumstances, breaching association regulations, failing to comply with a judicial body's decisions, and additional counts related to alleged obstruction and coordinated false testimony. Possible sanctions span fines of up to 380,000 shekels, further points deductions, relegation and even suspension from all football activity.
Ashdod's interest in the outcome is direct and, by its own account, costly. The club argues it was harmed at the sharpest possible moment: the alleged conduct is said to relate to the period around a decisive relegation-playoff fixture between the two sides last season. Ashdod finished bottom of Ligat Ha'al's lower playoff and was relegated to Liga Leumit after ten straight seasons in the top flight, while Tiberias avoided the drop despite having already had eight points docked over a separate, unrelated case involving alleged double contracts.
In its application to join the case, Ashdod's legal team argued the club was "the sporting side harmed most directly" by the events under investigation and asked the tribunal for interim measures to stop Tiberias registering for the 2026/27 season until the case is resolved, along with a ruling that would land before that season begins. Both the interim request and the accelerated schedule were rebuffed in this decision, ONE reported.
Tiberias has pushed back hard in public. Club owner Arie Kalmenson accused Ashdod of running a "coordinated and orchestrated campaign to blacken" his club, calling the legal manoeuvring an attempt to "harness legal procedures for an unsporting outcome" after Ashdod's relegation was sealed on the pitch. He noted Tiberias finished eight points clear of Ashdod by season's end and said the indictment itself would be disproved in the tribunal, not settled through what he described as a media campaign.
For now, the practical stakes remain unresolved. Ashdod's presence in the room from Wednesday's preliminary hearing gives the relegated club visibility into a case that could, depending on the eventual verdict and any sporting sanction attached to it, still affect where each side plays its football in 2026/27 - even if Ashdod will be watching rather than arguing.
