Request for Leave to Appeal (National) 19063-02-21 Hapoel Ra’anana Football Club – Eli Babayev

18 March 2025

Before: President Varda Wirth Livneh, Vice President Ilan Itach, Judge Roy Poliak

Public Representative (Employees) Ms. Varda Edwards, Public Representative (Employers) Mr. Dubi Ram

President Varda Wirth Livne

1. We have before us two applications for leave to appeal filed against two decisions, one of which was given by the Tel Aviv Regional Labor Court (sitting in Bat Yam) (labor dispute 10105-10-20; Judge Merav Kleiman and representatives of the public, Mr. Baruch Harel and Mr. Yona Hendel; and the second by the Jerusalem Regional Labor Court (labor dispute 586-04-20; [Nevo] Judge (as she was described at the time) Sarah Bruiner Isherzada and public representatives Mr. Eli Kadosh and Mr. Yosef Benvenisti). In the court's decision of June 30, 2021, leave to appeal was granted and it was decided that the proceedings would be heard together.
2. We will preface by stating that this proceeding concerned two claims filed by soccer players against the teams in which they played, in the framework of which remedies derived from rights in the Protective Laws were claimed. In both suits, a motion was filed on behalf of the defendant groups for a stay of proceedings on the grounds that there is an arbitration obligation. In one proceeding, the application was granted; In the second proceeding, however, the application was denied.  In both proceedings, applications for leave to appeal were submitted to this court, which raised a question of principle regarding the relationship between the labor courts and the arbitration institution of the Football Association.  Therefore, the following necessary parties were added to the proceeding:

The Israel Football Association (hereinafter: "the Association") is a registered non-profit association intended to coordinate and manage the football industry in Israel.  The IFA works in cooperation with the international bodies that manage the sport of football (UEFA and FIFA) and serves as an "association" within the meaning of the Sports Law, 1988 (hereinafter: the "Sports Law").

The Football Leagues Administration (hereinafter: the "Administration") - a private, non-profit company, authorized by the Football Association to manage the economic and professional activities of the professional football leagues.