President of FC Barcelona Joan Laport said the club Barcelona has not publicly released any official statements through its official channels confirming the holding of a friendly football match against the Israeli team Beitar in Jerusalem over the summer.
Head of the Palestine Football Association Jibril Rajoub received a letter from the President of FC Barcelona about the match planned in Jerusalem on August 4.
Nothing friendly about apartheid. Sign the petition calling on @FCBarcelona to cancel their friendly game with racist football club Beitar Jerusalemhttps://t.co/2qBAIgAeIz
— KARLS 🇵🇸 (@XR4L5) July 7, 2021
The match is set to be disputed in a stadium built on the ruins of the Palestinian village of al-Malha, whose residents were forcibly expelled and displaced in refugee camps.
“We have received the letter which you sent on behalf of the Palestine Football Association, in which you conveyed your concerns about the FC Barcelona’s presumed activity of a friendly game in Jerusalem,” the letter said.
Palestinian Football Assoc denounces friendly match between @FCBarcelona and racist club Beitar Jerusalem, whose fan chants include "calls to burn Arab villages and kill Arabs."
"We have received 100s of complaints from clubs and fans."#NothingFriendly about Israeli apartheid. https://t.co/AcPaZhFoyy pic.twitter.com/flXBg8SQpo
— PACBI (@PACBI) July 5, 2021
Laport stressed that FC Barcelona has not announced the team’s schedule for the current season through its official channels.
He added that FC Barcelona, as a democratic sports institution committed to basic rights and principles, has always expressed through actions its clear defense of the rights and freedoms of all peoples of the earth, as the club’s history confirms.
(WAFA, PC, Social Media)
