Aryeh Kalmenson, the owner of Ironi Tiberias, has launched a sharp public attack on MS Ashdod, accusing the relegated club of trying to claw its way back into Israel's top flight through the courts rather than on the pitch.
"The attempts by MS Ashdod to return to the top league through legal means, after failing to do so sportingly, are doomed to fail," Kalmenson said, according to ONE. "It's regrettable to see these futile attempts to use legal proceedings for an entirely unsporting outcome."
The dispute centres on an indictment filed by the Israeli Football Association against Tiberias over allegations that club staff administered intravenous saline treatments to players in excess of permitted volumes ahead of a lower-table playoff match against Ashdod last season, and then attempted to obstruct the ensuing investigation.
Ashdod has since petitioned the disciplinary tribunal to join those proceedings as an interested party, demanding an accelerated timetable and immediate interim measures before the 2026/27 season kicks off - arguing that any eventual sanction against Tiberias would otherwise be "emptied of meaning due to the passage of time."
Kalmenson rejected any link between the new indictment and Ashdod's relegation. "The claims in the indictment have no connection to MS Ashdod's loss to Tiberias, and ultimately the gap between the teams at season's end stood at eight points in Tiberias' favour," he said.
That gap is borne out in the final 2025/26 table: Tiberias finished ninth in the relegation round with 36 points, while Ashdod ended 13th with 28, sending Ashdod down to Liga Leumit alongside Maccabi Bnei Reineh.
Notably, Tiberias reached that final tally despite already absorbing an eight-point deduction of its own this season, imposed after a separate, settled case over irregular player contracts that also carried a further six-point penalty for 2026/27 and a 500,000-shekel fine.
Kalmenson did not stop at the legal substance of Ashdod's push. "MS Ashdod's attempts to influence decision-makers through an aggressive media campaign will not succeed," he said, accusing the club of waging a public-relations battle alongside its courtroom effort.
The case now sits with the Israeli FA's disciplinary court, which must weigh Ashdod's request to fast-track a ruling against the season's looming start - a timeline that could determine whether Tiberias opens 2026/27 in the Premier League or facing fresh sanctions that reopen the relegation question entirely.
