Gavi Bublil, Maccabi Netanya's longtime operations manager, has moved to shut down a round of social media speculation over his absence from the club's training facility, insisting he has not been dismissed and has not faced any disciplinary process.
"I have never been fired nor summoned for a hearing," Bublil said, according to ONE. "I am currently at home on sick leave due to back pain that occurred after the match against Ramat Gan."
The rumours took hold after Bublil went missing from his usual post at the club's facilities, with Alex Litvinov, who normally manages logistics for the youth teams, stepping in to cover his duties in the interim. That temporary handover was enough to set off chatter that Bublil's near two-decade run at the club was over.
Bublil said the reality was far more mundane: a back injury sustained around the club's match against Ramat Gan has kept him sidelined, and he remains a fully employed member of staff throughout.
He added that CEO Gil Lev asked to visit him while he recovers, and that the two used the meeting to discuss shifting Bublil into a role with lighter physical demands going forward, while preserving his existing salary and conditions.
Bublil described the gesture as consistent with what he called a relationship spanning some 20 years with the club's leadership, and said his focus now is on making sure the wider operation stays settled as Maccabi Netanya's season approaches.
The episode is a reminder of how quickly unverified claims about a long-serving club employee can spread once a routine absence goes unexplained — and how a short, on-the-record statement was enough to close it down.
