Soccer / Premier League / Haifa to cut down Katan salary to size
By Moshe Harush and Tomer Harush
Maccabi Haifa owner Yaakov Shahar has been experiencing sharp stomach pains for the past two years, a side effect of the $450,000 annual fee he has been paying for forward Yaniv Katan since the latter came back after several months at West Ham United.
Shahar would have been able to digest the contract with a smile were it not for the less than salutary contribution Katan has made to the squad during those two years. For several weeks, Shahar has been considering ways to part with the expensive handcuffs he has bought himself, or to at least find a way for them to chafe a bit less.
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On more than one occasion he has sent his assistant, Uzi Mor, to inform Katan discreetly that the club is interested in reducing his annual salary, a proposition firmly rejected by the forward.
"They can forget about it," Katan told sources close to him. "It won't be cut by a shekel. I agreed to a significantly lower contract [$120,000] than the one I had at West Ham in order to come back to Haifa, and I'm not willing to lower it more."
Shahar offered a compromise: Katan's contract would be extended by three years but his yearly pay would be reduced by roughly $150,000. Katan, for his part, refuses to budge.
If the sides fail to reach an agreement the team may be forced to part with Katan this summer, possibly to Beitar Jerusalem or Maccabi Tel Aviv, both of which have cautiously expressed interest in the player but are put off by his hefty price tag.Most buyers at this auction agree that Katan is overvalued.
"We're not a charity organization," a source at Maccabi Haifa said. "If somebody wants Katan, let them pay for him. So far, we haven't seen a lot of buyers."
Maccabi Herzliya going down
After Monday's match against Beitar in Jerusalem, Maccabi Herzliya chairman Ariel Shayman told players that he expected them to show the same kind of tenacity which they exhibited against the local team in the second half, even though the club's chances of avoiding relegation are slim.
"We just weren't good," Maccabi Herzliya player Asi Mashiah said. "I believe club's who are relegated deserve it. But we haven't been relegated yet."
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