The Football Association and the players’ organization agreed on an outline for polygraph tests

The Football Association, the Histadrut and the Sports Division reached an agreement today (Thursday) on the existence of mandatory polygraph tests in order to maintain the purity of the game. According to the agreement, a three-member committee will be established, which will determine by majority vote whether there is justification for subpoenaing an actor or actresses and other officials for a polygraph test.

Also, a polygraph institute agreed upon by the parties will be selected. The validity of the agreement was confirmed yesterday by the District Court in Tel Aviv, Honorable Judge Orna Levy, and will apply until the end of the 2024/25 season. The committee will include the association’s prosecutor attorney Gilad Bergman, the association’s CEO Niv Goldstein and the chairman of the Histadrut sports division Nir Alon, or the CEO of the players’ organization Moshiko Mishalof.

In exceptional circumstances, it will be possible to refer an individual suspected of offenses related to the purity of the game to perform a polygraph test. The circumstances for the referral are: the association’s prosecutor decided to open an investigation against a certain individual, after there was a real suspicion of the commission of the offenses. The individual will undergo an investigation, at the end of which a request can be submitted to refer the suspect to a polygraph test. The committee will determine if the individual can indeed be sent for testing.

“We are happy and welcome the conclusion reached with the soccer association and thank the legal team that did an outstanding job,” said Nir Alon, chairman of the Histadrut sports division, “all along the way we sought to preserve the privacy of the professional athletes in Israel, but on the other hand we also understood the The need to maintain professionalism, sportsmanship and reliability.”

“Our request was to proportionally reduce the charge for the test and to establish a professional committee that will determine by majority vote if there is justification for a summons for a polygraph test in offenses related to the purity of the games,” Alon added. “I am very happy that we made great progress that was expressed in a joint agreement in favor of the purity of sports in Israel.”

Niv Goldstein, CEO of the Football Association: “I welcome the fruitful discussions with the sports division of the General Workers’ Union and the players’ organization, which gave birth to a common struggle for everyone to maintain the purity of the sport.”

“This is a move that indicates better than anything else the true desire to fight a disease that has no place in sports and the belief that with new and proportional tools it will be possible to do it better,” added Goldstein. “It’s a better day for all those involved in the football industry, for all those who value sportsmanship and the purity of the game. Thanks to partners who are loyal to these principles, we were able to establish a mechanism and procedures that will bring real good news.”