Maccabi drop domestic game after foreign players' refusal to return to Israel / News - Basketnews.com

Maccabi Tel Aviv's foreign players refused to follow the rest of the squad to Israel for the two scheduled Winner League games, citing security and financially related reasons. Fielding a depleted roster, the EuroLeague side lost to Hapoel Haifa.

Credit: Srdjan Stevanovic/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images Credit Srdjan Stevanovic/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images

Playing without their foreign players in their second Winner League game after the war between Israel and Palestine broke out, Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv lost to Hapoel Haifa, 96-104.

Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv / Schedule

Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz89-81 Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade92-98 Zalgiris Kaunas Maccabi Playtika Tel AvivThu18:00

It was the EuroLeague side's first defeat on the home front (1-1), while Haifa improved to 2-4.

Roman Sorkin scored 35 points and Rafi Menko added 29 for the depleted Maccabi squad.

The decision not to return to Israel for the domestic championship was made by Maccabi Tel Aviv's foreign players after Thursday's match against Red Star for Euroleague Round 16.

Thus, Maccabi will play their December 25 game against Beersheba only with native players, as its non-Israeli athletes decided not to return to the country after meeting with the club's management. The decision was based on both security and financially-related reasons.

Due to the outbreak of war, the players' salaries were reduced by 15%, a salary reduction made possible due to a pre-existing clause in the contracts. The suspension of the Israeli league, the drop in income from sponsorships due to the war and having to move the entire team, along with the staff, to Serbia meant a great financial loss for Maccabi.

The Winner league was stopped from 6 October to 28 November due to the war and the volatile situation. On December 11, Maccabi played their first Winner League match after the competition was suspended due to the armed conflict. Oded Kattash's team beat Bnei at home 94-74.

Back then, Maccabi had several foreign players suiting up: James Webb III, Jasiel Rivero, Antonius Cleveland and Josh Nebo. It still remains to be seen whether the foreign players' refusal to join the team for the Winner league games will have any further repercussions on their contracts.

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