With regard to the "unpaved" funds, it was argued that the request for approval with respect to the full sum (NIS 7.5 million) should not be accepted, since the association had reached agreements with 10 teams regarding the return of more than NIS 5 million.
Regarding the sum of NIS 16 million that was transferred to the National League teams, these funds were intended from the outset and deliberately for the National League teams by virtue of a clear agreement between the Toto and the Association. Therefore, this is an amount that should not be demanded to be returned.
With regard to the sum of NIS 7.5 million that was transferred to First League teams, it was claimed that the transfer of this sum was duly approved at a meeting of the Association's secretariat on July 6, 2009, and that the intention was to approve the transfer for future years as well, and not only for the 2009/2010 season.
In connection with these last two sums, it was determined in the Sol Report and in the position of the majority in the Independent Committee that they should not be demanded. In addition, if it is allowed to file lawsuits in this regard, the defendants will easily reach out to the groups and file third-party notices against them, since it is known which groups received these funds. All this, against the benefit of the Association.
- It was also claimed that the association had already been compensated for the damage that is the subject of the application, when it began a recovery process as part of its cooperation with the Football Leagues Administration, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Culture and Sports, and the Toto. As part of this proceeding, the state allocated a cumulative amount of NIS 13.5 million to the association, which was transferred to cover the deficit created by the prohibited transfers to the soccer teams that are the subject of the request.
The respondents further noted that the adoption of the recommendations of the Claims Committee and their actual implementation undermines the application for approval. On January 8, 2020, the Association's management convened, and after a discussion, accepted the committee's conclusions by a majority vote and no abstentions. The Association is indeed implementing the recommendations of the Claims Committee in full. It reached agreements whereby the accounting firm and the officers' insurance company would transfer a sum of NIS 1.7 million to the Association's coffers, while the Premier League and National League teams would participate in the payment of the remaining deficit, in the amount of NIS 3.3 million.