Eric Stillman exposes the Recanati family: "They are hiding skeletons under Yad Eliyahu"

Businessman Eric Stillman, the main sponsor of Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball, was interviewed for Guy Peleg's podcast on ALL IN, a few days after he sent a sharp demand letter to the Recanati family before turning to the courts. In the interview, against the backdrop of the dispute over the ownership structure of the club, Stillman does not spare his criticism of the shareholders, reveals the legal moves he is planning, and declares a target date for his entry into ownership.

Stillman began by describing what he says is the central failure of the club: "One of the biggest problems at Maccabi Tel Aviv is its ownership structure. There is no real controlling owner, the structure is very corrupt, there are too many foreign interests involved in this team, and especially the conflict of interest of Recanati with the Sports 5 channel that he owns."

Regarding the way the Federman family was ousted, he added: "It was convenient for Recanati to throw Federman under the wheels. I think they could have ended this event in a different way, I think they humiliated them and disgraced them and did not give them the respect they deserve."

The most direct criticism was directed at the Recanati family and their motives: "The other side is an intriguing side, a side that has a full history of lack of credibility, and here too they acted with crazy bad faith, and also hid things from their partners, from the other shareholders of Maccabi. And the way they exercised the right of refusal, which is illegal, but that's another discussion, shows you a little about the conduct there."

According to Stillman, the current owners' affinity for the team is not that of a fan but a business one: "In Recanati there is no Maccabism at all. The team doesn't really interest them, they use the team as an asset that balances another asset of theirs, which is Sport 5, to keep its value above water, because it is also an asset that is in decline in terms of value and revenue.

They are not Maccabists, they don't burn for the victory until the end. They don't have the capital required to invest in the team." According to him, "It is very important for them to preserve their family image, that is the only thing they are fighting for, it is actually the only thing left of the Recanati family. There is no more IDB, there is no more Discount Bank, there are no more many things."

He explained their refusal to vacate their place by fear of exposure: "Their entrenchment right now under Yad Eliyahu is an irrational entrenchment. Any normal person wouldn't be there, because they have no desire to own the team and they have no desire to finance it. They are probably hiding all kinds of skeletons under Yad Eliyahu, and it doesn't suit them that local people with some brains open the hood and see all the problems that are there."

Stillman also addressed the media power gaps between the parties: "I don't have a media channel, they have a media channel. They use proxies to push the information they want to push to the fans. They will never stand in front of the fans, they won't explain to the fans why they do certain things, and everything will be some leak through some reporter. I have nothing to hide, I go as open as possible."

As for the continuation of the struggle, Stillman made it clear that he does not intend to retreat: "This is a battle to the end, a battle after which you can easily make a Netflix series about it. Emotions, money, endless nerves, endless defamation, lawyers, soon there will be courts, concealments, evasions, private investigators and a thousand other things that happen behind the scenes."

He added that he intends to act in parallel on two levels: "I have enough moves, both legal and potential collaborations with other shareholders of Maccabi Tel Aviv to get them out. They have two options: the honorable option, to decide that they no longer want to be part of the team, or to be dragged into an endless battle of defamation, including all the possible dirt that will come out, which will not help them or the team."

Regarding the expected legal procedure, he said: "We will turn to the court, and there will be discovery of documents, and they will have to come to testify, and they will have to explain why they did the combination they did, and they will not be able to escape it."

Stillman drew a difficult picture of the club's situation today: "I saw a non-functioning system, which over the years has only deteriorated. The deterioration started very quickly after Corona, to the stage where it is simply no longer functioning at all. It's like a wreck, it's something at crazy levels." When asked if this is how he describes the champion of Israel, he replied: "Yes, it's sad, but behind the scenes it's a non-functioning team."

Alongside the criticism, he emphasized that his motive is not control: "This is my opportunity to come and try to fix it and return it to what it was, and that is actually my main goal. Not really to control it and manage it and say that I am the owner of Maccabi Tel Aviv. If I need to be the owner of Maccabi Tel Aviv to return it to being the champion of Europe, I will do it. But if there is someone else who can do this job better than me, as a fan, I will only applaud him."

To the question of when he will be the owner, Stillman replied with a sharp schedule: "By September 30th of this year. Fast. Very fast." And to the question of when the European Cup will arrive: "Within two years, maybe three."