Ironi Tiberias opened their 2026/27 campaign with a gritty comeback on Saturday evening, coming from 1-2 down to beat Bnei Sakhnin 2-1 in their opening Toto Cup group match at Ramat Hasharon — a rare bright spot for a club still reeling from a scandal that has gutted its coaching staff and dressing room.
Tiberias fielded the side without head coach Eliran Houdda, who along with five first-team players remains provisionally barred from involvement by Israel's National Anti-Doping Agency in what the Israeli press has dubbed "the infusions affair" — an investigation into banned intravenous treatments allegedly administered to players at the end of last season.
Prosecutors are now seeking sanctions against six club figures tied to the case, ranging from lengthy suspensions to lifetime bans, according to Walla, Haaretz and Ynet. Houdda, general manager Gavriel Cohen, fitness coach Shlomi Vidraro, technical director Chen Sol, the club's suspended owner Miki Bitan and staff member Aviv Givli are all named in the proceedings.
With Houdda sidelined, it fell to assistant coach Moti Crispiel to take charge for the trip to Ramat Hasharon, and he made clear before kickoff that he wanted the turmoil left at the door. He had told the players simply to set everything aside and concentrate on the football, he said afterwards.
It nearly didn't work. Tiberias were poor for long stretches of the first half and slipped 2-1 behind as Sakhnin punished a sluggish start to the game.
A round of second-half substitutions changed the complexion of the match, though, and Tiberias fought their way back to snatch the win. "I'm happy the players knew how to put everything aside and win," Crispiel said, according to ONE.
For Sakhnin, the defeat carried its own warning signs. Head coach Yossi Abuksis — back for a second spell in charge after being appointed this summer following his dismissal at Maccabi Netanya — acknowledged that his side had controlled the opening 45 minutes without turning that dominance into a lead they could protect.
Abuksis added that his squad is still far from complete for the season ahead, saying he needs six or seven more signings before the Ligat Ha'al campaign begins, after several targeted foreign players turned down moves to Israel.
The win offers little more than a morale boost for Tiberias, whose off-field situation remains unresolved. The anti-doping prosecution's push for lengthy or lifetime bans against six club figures is still pending, but for one evening in late July, a group-stage comeback was treated as proof the squad can still function as a team.
