BUENOS AIRES – The Argentine Football Association has cancelled an upcoming friendly match against Israel’s national football team in Jerusalem, according to reports.
The Argentine Football Association said Wednesday they had informed their Israeli counterparts about the decision.
The match, which was slated for 9 June, was set to be played in Jerusalem’s Teddy Kollek Stadium but had drawn intense reactions, especially from Palestinians. It also faced boycotts from various groups.
According to local media, the manager of Argentina’s national football team, Jorge Sampaoli, was opposed to the match from the beginning and the players were also not willing to take part.
Speaking to ESPN, Argentinian striker Gonzalo Higuain confirmed reports that the game had been cancelled.
“They’ve finally done the right thing,” he said, adding the issue was over now.
https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/sports/burn-messi-shirts-if-he-plays-in-jerusalem-top-palestinian-football-boss-tells-fans/
Palestinians, who stressed that the match would serve the efforts of Israel to legalize its occupation of Jerusalem, staged protests in many places as well as in Barcelona, where preparation for the game was ongoing.
The Palestine Football Association head, Jibril Rajoub had last week urged fans to burn pictures of star striker Lionel Messi and replicas of his shirt if he plays in Argentina’s controversial friendly against Israel.
“He’s a big symbol so we are going to target him personally and we call on all to burn his picture and his shirt and to abandon him,” he told reporters Sunday.
Rajoub has long tried to get football’s world governing body, FIFA, and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to impose sanctions against Israel. This is mainly because of the Israeli government’s settlements policy in the West Bank and because it has imposed travel restrictions on Palestinian athletes citing security concerns.
The cancelled match in Jerusalem was part of Israel’s 70th anniversary celebrations in the city, which also marks 70 years since the Nakba – the ethnic cleansing of 750,000 Palestinians before and after Israel’s creation.
The match was originally slated to be played in Haifa but Israeli authorities contributed funding for it to be moved to Jerusalem, irking Palestinians further. This is in the wake of US President Donald Trump’s recognition of the city as Israel’s capital.
Most countries do not recognise either Israel’s or the Palestinians’ sovereignty in Jerusalem and have embassies to Israel in the Tel Aviv area. However, Guatemala and Honduras followed the US lead in moving their embassies last month.
Argentina have made four previous pre-World Cup stopovers in Israel since 1986.
The Saturday’s match was to be Argentina’s final game before they launch their World Cup campaign in Russia against Iceland on 16 June.
