In my opinion, the Association's Supreme Court is the professional body that should consider these considerations, and there is no reason for the court to consider these considerations as a first instance, and in fact not as an appellate court, when, as stated, its grounds for intervention are not "appealable".
- However, as I noted above, I am of the opinion that there is justification in this special case, to instruct the court to consider with an open heart and a willing soul whether it is appropriate to hold a replay.
- I have detailed above in an entire chapter the uniqueness of the soccer game, which is not just a 'game', and in particular the tremendous importance of the team's game results to its fans.
I also clarified above that the most important title for football fans in Israel is their team's championship (when, unfortunately, it seems that winning the Champions League is a somewhat distant dream, and when the Israeli national team has not been able to reach a major tournament for about 55 years), while the most unfortunate event for them is the team's relegation to a lower league.
It is not for nothing that I used the words "football fans" and not the teams themselves. Soccer as an 11v1 game, is an excellent sport, which is certainly very enjoyable to play, but football as a cultural phenomenon depends on the fans.
Without the fans, football has no meaning. In this regard, see, for example, Nir Zadok in the article mentioned in section 54 above:
"Football is absurd, because unlike any other field, the more you distill its essence, leaving only 11 players against 11 players, the less meaningful it becomes. That's the setting, and the interest that many attribute to the game who wouldn't know what to do if the ball rolled at their feet, which allows for its importance."
See also Tamar Rappaport's fascinating and important book 'Football Belongs to the Fans! A Research Journey in the Footsteps of Hapoel Katamon Jerusalem' (Resling, 2016).
Hence, if it were only a matter of economic matter, even a significant one, of the teams, I would not have seen fit to return the discussion to the Football Association. However, when it comes to the welfare of football fans, I believe that the issue of the replay should be seriously discussed in the Supreme Court of the Association.
- I would like to emphasize that every soccer game is better for it to be decided on the grass than on the "green table", and this is determined by a very large number of decisions of the Association's refereeing institutions.
Hence, it is all the more so that it is appropriate and important that the fate of the national championship and the relegation to the National League be determined in light of the achievements of the teams on the grass and in the spotlight, and not in light of the achievements of the teams' representatives in light of the neon light of the judicial institutions.