FIFA is turning a blind eye to Israel’s ban on allowing Palestinians to hold matches as part of the Palestine Cup, Euro-Mediterranean Human Right Monitor said yesterday.
In a statement, the rights group said that the Israeli authorities continue to ban 30 players from the Rafah Team in Gaza to play the final match of the Palestine Cup against the Balata Youth Team in occupied West Bank city of Nablus. This, it continued, is a violation of international law and of the FIFA principles which stress “the right to play”.
Ramzy Baroud says: Israeli teams must not be allowed in competitions while continuing its racist regimehttps://gulfnews.com/opinion/op-eds/fifa-must-take-action-to-end-sports-apartheid-in-israel-1.65892011 …Fifa must take action to end sports apartheid in IsraelIsraeli teams must not be allowed in competitions while continuing its racist regimegulfnews.com154:44 PM – Aug 20, 2019Twitter Ads info and privacySee Abrar Khan ‘s other Tweets
The two teams played the home leg on June 30 in Rafah and the return leg was planned to take place in July.
According to the Euro-Med, the Israeli occupation prevents footballers from Gaza traveling to the West Bank over security claims, stressing that this is “merely a political cover for the [Israeli] collective punishment practiced against the Gaza Strip.”
Israel is blocking the Palestine Football Cup because it won’t allow the winning Gaza League team from travel to the occupied West Bank for the finals. @EuroMedHR denounces @FIFAcom for ignoring Israel’s violations of international law and FIFA statues. https://buff.ly/2ZjTwms
8512:09 PM – Aug 22, 2019Twitter Ads info and privacy112 people are talking about this
Palestinians hold a series of matches every year and teams from Gaza and West Bank play against each other in both areas of the occupied Palestinian territories until they reach the final of the Palestine Cup, which is recognized by FIFA.
Euro-Med reported that Israeli restrictions on Palestinian athletes “have been increasing”, with occupation forces stopping the bodybuilding and volleyball teams from taking part in international tournaments.
(Middle East Monitor, PC, Social Media)
Know the Truth about Palestine
Dear Reader,
You have carried us through years of honest and accurate coverage and we are confident that you will carry us through the next stage, which promises to be more critical than ever, for Palestine and for all of us.
Make a contribution to support the Palestine Chronicle.Click HERE to donate using your credit card or PayPal.
Or, click HERE to learn more.
(The Palestine Chronicle is a registered 501(c)3 organization. All donations are tax deductible)
