Maccabi Tel Aviv FC filed a civil suit this morning against two “fans” in the amount of 100,000 NIS each after they were caught using pyrotechnics during the Toto Cup Derby. The pyrotechnics caused a delay in the game due to the smoke that went through the stadium. The two were caught and ejected by the police as part of Maccabi Tel Aviv’s efforts to eradicate violence among the fans and were sued for the damages caused to both the Club and the League, who also joined the lawsuit.

Maccabi Tel Aviv FC has made it clear that the Club will continue to operate on all levels to ensure that fan disturbances and those who damage the Club will be banned from the stadiums and will be sued for those damages that they cause.

As part of the lawsuit, the League conducted a survey via “Gal HaDash” and a series of serious and worrying findings were raised from acts of violence in the football stadiums similar to the offenses committed by those being sued, as follows: “Violence is the main cause and reason why fans will not come to watch football at the stadiums. The survey respondents indicated that violence is the most important, central and principal issue that needs to be addressed. Roughly half of the parents who go to watch football at the stadiums said that they will not take their children due to the violence at the facilities.”

The League CEO, Oren Hasson said: “The violent behavior and disorderly conduct at the stadiums can cause personal injury and we see this as a severe issue that needs to be dealt with. We will not just stand idly by, but we will assist the Clubs in removing and banning those who are damaging everyone’s football experience, as point reduction and punishments hurts the club’s fans and the League’s image.”

Maccabi Tel Aviv will visit Doha Stadium on Matchday Six of league play, Wednesday September 21st at 20:45 and will take on Bnei Sakhnin in a match that was moved due to the Rosh Hashana holiday coupled with the Club’s Europa League clash in Ireland. Tickets sales have begun and are available through the Leaan Ticket Office. Ticket sales are for Maccabi Tel Aviv fans ONLY. Tickets may be collected at the Leaan Ticket Office until Wednesday September 21st at 12:00. The Doha Stadium Box Office will open two hours prior to kickoff. Home printing is not available for this match.

Ticket Prices
Telephone/Internet – 60 NIS
Leaan Ticket Office, 101 Dizengoff Street, Tel Aviv – 55 NIS
Box Office on Matchday – 50 NIS

Avi Rikan, Maccabi Tel Aviv’s number 22 looked back at his goal in the 3:0 win over Hapoel Raanana on Matchday Four of the Ligat Ha’Al at the Netanya Stadium. The defender/midfielder also spoke about the rotation of players, the upcoming two weeks and his goal:

On scoring the match’s second goal:

“I didn’t think too much, it was all instinctive. I also used my right foot which was definitely good. I’m happy that I scored and the goal gave us all a breath of air.”

Busy past few months:

“There are a lot of games and we have a deep squad. We’ve gone through a lot since we opened the season two months ago, whether it’s the league, Europa League or Toto Cup we’re all coming together for the good of the Club. The ultimate goal is to bring the most success to the club as possible.”

Playing time:

“At the end of the day we are all getting minutes and that will continue being the case throughout the season. We have a very deep squad with many, many games, so everyone will have playing time.”

Importance of the win:

“We knew that this was a key match to make sure we got Thursday night’s game out of our system. It was good to score three goals, keep a clean sheet, pick up the three points and win the game. We have a lot of matches coming up and a busy time ahead so we have to make sure we stay in tip top shape.”

The upcoming two weeks:

“We have three matches plus an Europa League contest before we go on the international break again, so it’s important that we do the maximum to pick up as many points as possible and continue on our way.”

Maccabi Tel Aviv have moved into first place for the time being following a Matchday Four 3:0 victory against Hapoel Raanana. The Yellow & Blue were the superior side throughout the contest and earned the important 3-points as the Club still has two more matches this coming week.

Eyal Golasa who entered the game as a substitute and had a hand in the third goal said: “I missed playing. I have been waiting for my chance and I hope that I’ll be able to play more minutes. The rotation here is big and each one of us has to prove ourselves during the training sessions. There are very good players here who have played together for a long time. I took into account that it will take time and I’m sure that I’ll be able to help out the Club reach its goals.”

About the minutes he’s played so far:

“There are many players who are we getting minutes as they thought they would, the coach has a Starting XI that he trusts and that’s legitimate. The season is plenty long and I believe that I’ll get my minutes along the way. I have no regrets, I’m 200% happy that I came to Maccabi.”

Feelings after the Zenit match:

“Everyone was disappointed, but this is football and we have to look ahead. Almost every two days we have a match and we are moving on.”

Battling for a Starting XI position:

“If you’re in the Starting XI then that’s great, but if not, you have to wait until the next training session and work even harder. Throughout Europe there are always battles going on to get playing time. Journalists like to make big deals about these things and that’s their job.”

Shota Arveladze, Maccabi Tel Aviv’s Georgian Head Coach discussed his team’s performance against Hapoel Raanana as Tal Ben Chaim’s brace and Avi Rikan’s single marker was all the difference in a 3:0 win. The boss also looked ahead to Wednesday night’s contest at Sakhnin and of course putting aside last week’s Europa League clash:

“It’s a new day with new possibilities and a new game. Today was a game that we had to fight for and we wanted to win. We put everything else aside and played our own game.”

About the performance:

“We should give the boys credit, we were in pole position for both halves and scored goals. They didn’t put water on the grass because we would have played quicker so it’s not that easy to play our game, but we played our basics.”

Possibility of leaving the Club:

“Let’s be serious. I heard it also, but these are just rumors. I am fully concentrated and I want to win trophies with Maccabi. I see the boys and they want to win. I’m sure we will have games like last week and others who will come more motivated to play against us.”

Another match coming up on Wednesday:

“We can’t change anything and we will have to do the best at that moment and come in fresh. We can complain but it won’t make a difference, we have to play the best that we can. This is a marathon and the boys know they will have some weeks off later on.”

Visiting Sakhnin for the first time since last season:

“I know the story and all that went on last game there. This isn’t football and we want everyone to see what football is. I hope that everyone will see a very good game with a bit of tension but nothing else. Maccabi and all the club’s are looking to give a better image to the country’s game of football.”

The Yellow & Blue defeated Hapoel Raanana 3:0 as winger Tal Ben Chaim scored a pair of goals and Avi Rikan added a lone strike from the top of the box as Maccabi will now prepare for a Wednesday clash at Bnei Sakhnin at Doha Stadium, 20:45.

Prematch

Head Coach Shota Arveladze made a number of changes to his Starting XI from last match, however, Serbian keeper Predrag Rajikovic was in goal as Eli Dasa, Avi Rikan, Tal Ben Haim and Egor Filipenka played in front of him. Gal Alberman sported the captain’s armband and took up his usual midfield position while Haris Medunjanin and Dor Micha played alongside number 6. Barak Itzhaki, Tal Ben Chaim and Vidar Kjartansson provided the offense.

Available on the bench for Coach Arveladze was Daniel Lifshitz, Eitan Tibi, Dor Peretz, Yossi Benayoun, Eyal Golasa, Eden Ben Basat and Sagiv Yehezkel.

First Half

Avi Rikan’s 4th minute blast went over the bar as Maccabi looked to strike early, however, Raanana had a header chance via Ben Binyamin just one minute later but his effort missed the mark. Following a long shot by Kjartansson, Ben Chaim picked up the match’s first yellow card in the 15th minute.

In the 27th minute, Rajikovic came up big against Rene Mihelic as the Slovenian’s sharp shot was snagged by the Serbian keeper who in turn sent Maccabi downfield to take a 1:0 lead. Micha supplied winger Ben Chaim with a tremendous pass as number 11 easily beat Arik Yanko on a one-on-one situation good for a 1:0 Maccabi lead.

Right before the halftime whistle, Dasa cleared the ball off the line to keep Maccabi ahead by a goal.

Second Half

It didn’t take long for the Yellow & Blue to double their score as Rikan’s gorgeous curler from the top of the box beat Yanko for a 2:0 lead in the 53rd minute. Ben Chaim and Micha combined in helping number 22’s goal, giving Maccabi an insurance marker. Eyal Golasa was then introduced for Micha four minutes later.

In the 61st minute Rajikovic came up big using his knees to make a save off of a low effort from Roie Shukrani while two minutes later Dor Peretz replaced Rikan and ten minutes after that Eden Ben Basat came on for Kjartansson.

Peretz’s header just missed finding the back of the goal as number 14’s effort off of a brilliant Golasa pass was just tipped over the bar good for a corner kick in the 77th minute. However, Ben Chaim made sure to make no mistake with a terrific Ben Basat pass in the 83rd minute as number 11 scored his second of the match coming off of the right wing to beat Yanko for a 3:0 Maccabi advantage.

Itzhaki had the Yellow & Blue’s final chance of the evening but his scorcher was parried away by the Raanana keeper as Maccabi out the finishing touches on a 3:0 victory as they will now get ready for a trip to Doha Stadium and Bnei Sakhnin on Wednesday night.

Maccabi Tel Aviv will visit Dutch outfit Alkmaar in the Group Stages of the Europa League on October 20th at the AFAS Stadium in Holland. Due to the limited amount of tickets, a ticket lottery will be held for season ticket holders.

Following the publication of the results, the winners will receive an SMS and will then have four days to purchase their ticket. Each season ticket holder will be able to purchase one ticket only. Ticket sales will be held through the Leaan Ticket Office. Registration for the lottery begins today, Sunday and will close on Wednesday September 21st at 12:00.

Important

Ticket sales will be made upon the presentation of a passport copy, flight ticket and season ticket card with the name of the traveler only. Season ticket holders who win the lottery will need to purchase a flight ticket by the time they need to compete the match ticket purchase. If a season ticket holder earns the right to purchase a ticket and doesn’t by the time allocated, the next person on the list will have the privilege to purchase the ticket. Should a season ticket holder not purchase the match ticket they will be unable to participate in all ticket lotteries for the 2016/17 season. A season ticket holder who does not plan on traveling should not enter the lottery.

Due to a delay by the Dutch club, tickets have not yet arrived in the country.

Entrance into the Alkmaar Stadium will be done by checking names on a list at the door and should a fan not appear on the list they will not be admitted.

Ticket Prices

Leaan Ticket Office – 85NIS
Telephone/Internet – 90NIS

Stadium: Netanya

Coach: Haim Silvas

One of the youngest coaches in the league begins his third season at the helm of Hapoel Raanana while between 2012-14 he served as the club’s assistant coach. The past two seasons, Silvas has done a marvelous job in reaching amazing heights with his side, leading to an appearance in the Playoff Round of the Ligat Ha’Al last year and finished in sixth place with 42 points.

Comings & Goings:

Silvas had to say goodbye to a fair number of players that helped him out last campaign as Evans Kangwa departed and Yuval Shabtai moved to Hapoel Beer Sheva while Mamadou Thiam and defender Lior Levy also left the Netanya Stadium side.

On the other side of the coin, Shachar Hirsh joined the team from Maccabi Haifa and is thought to be a striker with great potential and could be an unpolished diamond. Elad Gabai signed from Beitar while Dor Hugi, Gal Arel and Roie Shukruni also came on board to help the 2016/17 edition of Hapoel Raanana.

Preseason:

Due to all of the new players, Silvas’s crew got their season off on the wrong foot. The Yellow & Blue have already defeated Rannana and did so in the Toto Cup as Hapoel picked up only two points and finished in last place in their group (1:6 goal differential).

Raanana has also gotten off to a poor start in Ligat Ha’Al play, falling to Beer Sheva 2:1 on Matchday One while falling to Maccabi Petach Tikva 1:0 the following week. The club’s only point came last Matchday at Kiryat Shemona when the two teams finished 0:0, however, Hirsch was sent off and won’t be available to play against Maccabi.

Under the magnifying glass: Rene Mihelic

The Slovenian midfielder is thought to be one of the most important foreigners playing for Raanana and last season he scored three goals while picking up five assists in 30 matches. This season Mihelic will need to be a main cog in the Raanana machine as he’ll play next to captain Snir Shuker in the midfield. So far this campaign, the Slovenian has scored Raanana’s lone goal in the 2:1 loss to Beer Sheva.