Maccabi Tel Aviv's off-field headache just got significantly more expensive. The Israeli Tax Authority is demanding roughly 80 million shekels from the club, according to a report by ONE, in a dispute that reaches back several years over the taxation of foreign players.
The claim centres on deductions the club took for foreign players' housing costs during a period based in Belgrade, as well as wage-tax obligations tied to its overseas signings, ONE reported. The Tax Authority disputes whether those deductions and payments were handled correctly under Israeli law.
Maccabi is not the first Israeli Premier League club to run into this kind of scrutiny. ONE noted that Hapoel Tel Aviv previously reached a settlement with the Tax Authority over a similar dispute concerning foreign-player taxation, and that other top-flight clubs have faced comparable claims in recent years.
Approached by ONE for comment, Maccabi Tel Aviv kept its response brief: "Maccabi is a private company that does not conduct its affairs through the media." The club did not dispute or confirm the specific figure.
According to the report, any eventual resolution is expected to see the sum paid off in instalments over several years rather than as a single lump payment, with the final settlement figure still subject to negotiation between the club and the authorities.
The tax claim lands during an already difficult stretch off the pitch for one of Israeli football's most decorated institutions, adding another financial pressure point alongside the club's other well-documented budgetary strains in recent seasons.
No official statement has been issued by the Israeli Tax Authority itself, and the precise assessment years have not been made public. As with any unresolved tax dispute, the figure reported by ONE reflects the authority's opening demand rather than a final, agreed liability.
