Gidi Lipkin 17/02/2021 13:22
San Menachem confronts Hapoel Haifa players at the end (Omri Stein)
As part of a plea deal submitted to the disciplinary court by the association’s prosecutor, Adv. Nir Reshef, Maccabi Haifa, the CEO and its accused players, the disciplinary court, Judge Israel Shimoni, decided to impose the following penalties on those involved in the Haifa derby event:
Bogdan Planich – Exclusion from one actual game and three conditional games per year. Dolev Haziza – Exclusion to three actual games. San Menachem – suspension for two actual games and two games on probation for one year. Eid Habashi – Exclusion to three actual games. Assaf Ben Dov – suspension for three actual games, a fine of NIS 5,000 in practice and a fine of NIS 10,000 on probation for one year. Maccabi Haifa – actual NIS 30,000 fine.
Due to the specified penalties, Planic will want his penalty in the upcoming cup game against Umm al-Fahm. Haziza, who was sent off due to the accumulation of tickets from the cup, will want his punishment in the three league games against Kiryat Shmona, Hapoel Tel Aviv and Maccabi Petah Tikva. Sun Menachem will also miss the game against Umm al-Fahm and against Urbani Kash. Habashi will be removed from these games (like Menachem) and also against Hapoel Tel Aviv.
As a result of Maccabi Haifa’s plea deal, Hapoel Haifa will now have to decide whether to reach a plea deal itself or appear for a hearing before Dayan Israel Shimoni. It is clear that the expected penalties that prosecutor Adv. Nir Reshef will demand at the hearing will be much higher than they can obtain in a plea deal. There are currently advanced talks between the plaintiff and Hapoel Haifa about signing a plea agreement.
Judge Israel Shimoni later passed his decision on the plea agreement in a reasoned manner: “The accuser and the defendants filed a plea agreement in which these defendants pleaded guilty to the offenses attributed to them and requested that a conviction be given by way of conviction and sentencing as stated there. In a judicial time, and in accordance with the law, the court will give effect to the arrangement brought before it. However, the court does not have a “rubber stamp”, and before approving the arrangement, the reasonableness of the requested will be examined both with regard to the conviction clauses and with regard to the punishment. “
“As to the convictions: having found a correlation between the behaviors attributed in the judge’s report and the charges, since all defendants 6-1 admit all the charges attributed to them in the indictments I have nothing but to confirm that the arrangement is proper.”
“As for punishment: I will generally state that the penalties set forth in the arrangement are on the stick side of the scale of punishment, and if so at all I have not found in the requested penalties an exception beyond reasonableness. However, I found it appropriate to aggravate to some extent the punishment of a number of defendants who I thought the acceptance of the proposed punishment in itself would “send” an unsatisfactory message about the relative severity of their actions, as detailed: Bogdan Planich “Exclusion of 3 games until the end of the season, for the penalty of expulsion from the actual game 1 that is requested and which is a stick above the usual”.
San Menachem – watching events as captured on TV cameras shows that this player “started the wheel of events” with an incorrect statement towards the opponent’s bench, and therefore I found the penalty of only 2 actual games too low. Therefore, I added to the agreement a penalty of 2 games “until the end of the season”.
Assaf Ben Dov – Hela, the group’s CEO, introduced himself to the field and even took part in the brawl that developed there. There is excessive severity not only for his participation in the brawl and for being a functionary who is expected to act as a “responsible adult” in such events but also For his presence in the field of the lawn, where he is not allowed to be specifically during these corona days. The charge in which he is convicted here, in the hope that it will deter this defendant and other defendants. “
