"I do not remember the details of the incident, as I had too much to drink." That's the statement Ronny Deila has issued to Israeli media after being investigated by Tel Aviv police for allegedly sexually harassing a female taxi driver in the early hours of Thursday morning.
The 50-year-old Maccabi Tel Aviv manager was reportedly questioned following a complaint filed over the weekend. Israeli police confirmed a foreign national of the same age, described only as a senior coach at a top-division club, had been released under restrictive conditions. The details line up squarely with Deila.
The apology doesn't fully land
His statement to N12 does the rounds: he apologises to the driver "sincerely and wholeheartedly," to club members, to the fans. He says the conduct doesn't reflect his values. He takes responsibility. All the right words, delivered in the right order.
But framing the incident around not remembering — because he'd been drinking — isn't quite the same as acknowledging what was said. There's a gap there, and people will notice it.
This is also not the first time Deila's name has surfaced in connection with an off-field incident in Tel Aviv. Last month, reports emerged that he had been ejected from a Berlin-themed bar after allegedly abusing staff who refused to serve him. Police were called. The bar manager later contradicted the story entirely, saying Deila was well-behaved and that nothing of the sort occurred. No charges were pressed.
What this means for Maccabi Tel Aviv
Deila only took charge of Maccabi Tel Aviv in February, with Rangers and Scotland legend Kenny Miller alongside him as assistant. It was an appointment that raised eyebrows — Deila's last top-level club job before Israel was with New York City FC — and the scrutiny on him was always going to be high.
A manager under active police investigation, released under restrictive conditions, is a distraction no club wants mid-season. Maccabi Tel Aviv are one of Israeli football's biggest institutions, and their odds of a title charge get cloudier every time a story like this lands.
Deila won two Scottish Premiership titles and a League Cup at Celtic. That's his professional currency. Right now, it's being spent on something entirely unrelated to football.
