Alavés dismisses Serbian player Maras for performance decline

Spanish club Deportivo Alavés announced on Thursday the dismissal of Serbian defender Nikola Maras. The club cited a "manifest, voluntary, and continuous decrease in his normal or agreed work performance" as the reason for the disciplinary action.

The decision follows a disciplinary investigation that comprehensively analyzed the player's performance throughout his contract with the club. Alavés evaluated various objective parameters of his sporting activity. This included technical-tactical data from Wyscout, competitive physical performance metrics from SkillCorner, and training load and behavior records from Catapult and WIMU systems.

Based on this data, Alavés concluded that Maras's performance had significantly and consistently declined. The player had the opportunity to present his arguments regarding the evidence but did not. Consequently, the club communicated the termination of his contract through disciplinary dismissal.

Maras, who joined Alavés in the 2023-24 season after arriving on loan from Almería, was under contract until 2027. He helped the team achieve promotion to the First Division and played 20 matches in the Second Division before a meniscus injury halted his progress. The club had previously loaned him out to Levante, Sporting, and Mirandés before terminating his contract after the current preseason.