Itamar Chizik ran Maccabi Haifa's football department for fourteen years and later chaired Israel's Players' Status Institution, the body that rules on transfer compensation disputes. So when he goes on record calling a shake-up of that same system "shameful," the football establishment tends to listen.
Speaking on ONE's podcast Sicha HaYom, Chizik said the reform that collapsed the arbitration panel from three adjudicators down to a single decision-maker was pushed through without proper consultation with the people who actually work the system. "Players aren't an Excel spreadsheet — it's shameful what's being done," he said, arguing that a player's value hinges on far too many variables to be settled by one person applying a rigid formula.
He pointed to a concrete example: the recent case of Daniel Vorko, whose move from Hapoel Ramat Gan to Beitar Jerusalem went to arbitration after the two clubs couldn't agree a training-compensation fee. Hapoel Ramat Gan had asked for 1.2 million shekels for a player it developed into a youth international; the committee settled on just 240,000 shekels, a figure ONE itself reported when the ruling landed.
For Chizik, the Vorko case is exhibit A for a wider complaint — that clubs pouring years of investment into developing young talent are left short-changed once that talent moves on, with neither the Youth Committee leadership nor the coaching staff who actually work with the players consulted on how compensation gets calculated.
The conversation then turned to his old club. Chizik does not believe Maccabi Haifa can compete for the championship this season, saying the squad still lacks the defensive depth and midfield cover a title challenge requires.
He was pointed about who he holds responsible for that gap, saying the club's new sport director, Lior Refaelov, is "not suited" to the professional-management role — a notable line given Refaelov was only installed in the post in May, alongside Barak Bakhar's confirmation as head coach for the new season.
On owner Yankel Shachor, who has faced a wave of fan protests since the spring over the club's direction, Chizik was more measured, saying Shachor "understands football" even while some of his calls are open to question.
He was, however, unambiguous about the supporters themselves, saying their campaign against Shachor had "crossed the line of good taste" — a reference to a protest movement that has included stadium banners and stickers plastered around the owner's home and offices demanding he sell the club.
Taken together, Chizik's remarks land as a dual warning shot: a governance complaint aimed at the body that once employed him, and a gloomy squad assessment aimed at the club that shaped his career, at a moment when Haifa's boardroom and its stands are already at odds.
