Omri Kanada revealed in tears about gambling: "You sell your whole family"

In a moment of honesty, Omri Kanada opened up before the cameras on the show "Power Couple" and shared a story that is not always easy to hear about the world of football and life after it. "And let me tell you something most real," Kanada confesses to Asi Buzaglo, "I grew up crooked, I grew up on lies in football, I grew up on intrigues. I would lie to players that there was a practice on Monday, when the practice was actually on Sunday, just to be in the lineup. And here I am going through a process of truth." This admission of old habits and survival mechanisms that accompanied him from the beginning of his journey serves as a point of change that he is experiencing today.

Kanada touches on the wound of his life, the gambling addiction that accompanied him throughout his career. "And here I will tell you something else most real, Asi, I am in tears," he says, "I came from a world of gambling. You sell your parents, you sell your whole family for the impulses." This addiction, which began in parallel with his success on the field and his move to Hapoel Tel Aviv, dragged him into heavy debts of hundreds of thousands of shekels. In one of the famous cases in 2011, he fell into a debt of about 65,000 shekels on a gambling site and was blackmailed with threats by members of a criminal organization from Jaffa, until his brother was forced to intervene urgently and pay the debt to save his life. To cover the losses, he used to ask for advances and loans from the former owners of the team, which prevented him from receiving treatment in time.

The daily struggle with lies and old impulses became a non-stop life mission for Kanada. "And know that telling the truth is hard," he shares with Buzaglo, "I tell you that every day I wake up in the morning, look in the mirror and say, 'Today I am not lying. Today I am only telling the truth.' Every day, for years like this." This Sisyphean effort to choose honesty anew every morning is what keeps him today as someone who testifies about himself as being "clean" from gambling for over nine years.

Amidst the anxieties and the storm, Kanada finds deep comfort in the direct eye contact with Buzaglo, far from any reality show strategy. "And I waited for this conversation with you, brother, forget it, no strategies or nonsense," says Kanada, and Buzaglo immediately replies, "I understand you with my eyes." Kanada continues and sharpens the sense of closeness: "I don't understand Dorin with my eyes, I understand you with my eyes. So know that you are my refuge here, and if it gets hard for me and all that, I swear on my mother, Asi."

The dramatic turning point in Kanada's life came at just 30 years old, when during the filming of the reality show "Goalstar" in Mexico, he suffered a heart attack in front of the cameras, required catheterizations, and was forced to retire permanently from football. The early retirement led him to depression and a return to his parents' home, when only the presence of his young daughter saved him in the dark moments. Today, Kanada describes this fall as a source of strength; he serves as a lecturer warning teenagers, young players, and soldiers about the dangers of online gambling, appears on podcasts, and more.

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