Alavés Unconventionally Terminates Defender's Contract

In an unprecedented move, Spanish club Alaves announced on Thursday the termination of Serbian defender Nikola Maras's contract, citing what the club described as a "clear, deliberate, and ongoing decline in his performance level."

Alaves clarified that the decision came after opening a disciplinary investigation, during which the club relied on objective data to assess the player's performance. This included technical and tactical indicators via the Wyscout platform, competitive physical performance data from SkillCorner, as well as workload and behavior records during training through Catapult and WIMU systems.

Based on this data, the club concluded that there was a "clear, deliberate, and ongoing decline in the level of work and agreed performance" of the player. It was noted that Marash was given the right to respond to these allegations, but he did not exercise this right, leading the club to decide to terminate its association with him.

The 30-year-old Serbian defender joined Alaves on loan in 2022 before making a permanent transfer from Almeria the following year. His contract runs until 2027.

Marash has made 23 appearances for the team, but he has not participated since January 2024. He also had loan spells at Levante, Sporting Gijón, and Mirandés before returning to Alaves last month.