The Israel Football Association has taken its response to the country's illegal betting scandal a significant step further, filing an urgent petition with the game's disciplinary court demanding the immediate suspension of Maccabi Haifa forward Omer Dahan from all football activity, ONE reported.

Dahan, who spent last season on loan at Hapoel Ra'anana, was one of several people detained on June 14 as police gambling unit Lahav 433 moved against an alleged illegal betting and match-fixing network linked to a gang from Migdal HaEmek. Investigators are examining suspected large-scale illegal gambling, match-fixing, money-laundering and tax offences.

The striker later confirmed publicly that he was the footballer at the centre of the case, after a court-ordered publication ban on his name was lifted. He said he had been through "a difficult economic period" but denied any involvement in fixing or selling matches, insisting he had never harmed a team he played for.

According to ONE, the case moved into a new phase on August 2, when Lahav 433 informed the football association that its investigation had been completed. The association's legal department has now asked the disciplinary court to suspend Dahan from all activity until the criminal proceedings against him conclude, or, at minimum, for 60 days.

Central to the association's petition is evidence it says contradicts what Dahan told police. Investigators allege he bet "as a matter of routine" on matches in the very league in which he played, including games involving his own club — a claim the material submitted to the disciplinary court is reported to support with physical evidence.

The association argued that allowing Dahan to keep playing while under suspicion of such serious offences would "severely damage public confidence in the integrity of matches and the fight against this corrupt phenomenon," according to ONE's report of the filing.

It also pointed to precedent, noting that the disciplinary court has previously suspended players and club officials over criminal allegations considerably less serious than those Dahan now faces.

The disciplinary court had not yet ruled on the association's request at the time of publication, and Dahan has not been convicted of any offence.