While teams are waiting for a court decision, a proposal is being drafted that would completely change the league's structure after the regular season. A team that was supposed to be relegated might not be relegated at all.
Teams in the Israeli League played the last regular-season game in the Winner League on Sunday. However, it's still unclear whether any of them will be relegated.
Even though they won the last game against Hapoel Afula, Hapoel Eilat placed last, 13th in the league, and should be relegated to the National League. The team is currently challenging this situation.
Hapoel Eilat are arguing that no team should be relegated during a season that was heavily impacted by the war between Israel and Hamas that started on October 7th, 2023.
"Today, the feelings are very, very hard, but justice must be done, and in a season like this, a team cannot be relegated. I said it from the first moment. I hope they will be fair and considerate enough to understand that a season like this cannot have relegations. The situations were unequal and unrelated to sports," Eilat's chairman, Tal Pinhas, told Sport5.
According to Gidi Lipkin from ONE, nine teams have signed a document that would allow the league to do just that. Maccabi PlaytikaTel Aviv, Hapoel UNET Holon, and Bnei Herzliya were the only ones not to sign it, while Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem are believed to sign the document soon.
Additionally, teams are waiting for the decision of the Supreme Court of the Israeli Basketball Association, which has to decide whether there will be relegation/promotion games between the second-placed team in the National League and the last team in the Winner League.
While this decision is pending, the court has given an order for the league to come to a 15-team solution, Or Shkedy from Walla Sport notes.
A proposal of having 15 teams in the league instead of the current 13 is being discussed, with two additional organizations coming into the league from the National League. Interestingly, the decision would only be valid for the 2024-25 season.
The entire situation has caused outrage in the public, as changing the league's rules after the regular season is unprecedented. While multiple teams faced similar challenges in other sports in Israel throughout the season, a special regulation wasn't discussed in any of the cases.
If Hapoel Eilat eventually do get relegated, it will be the first time since the 2011-12 season that the team doesn't compete in the Winner League.
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