Israel’s football association announced on Wednesday that it plans to file a complaint to FIFA accusing its Palestinian counterpart of pressuring Argentinian players and staff into canceling a friendly match.
Israel to complain to FIFA about match cancellation https://t.co/9Ihn5SZgUR pic.twitter.com/bsnPJkkVDN
— BICOM (@BritainIsrael) June 7, 2018
The Israeli Football Association’s leader called for protests against Argentina.
Argentina was set to play against Israel on Saturday, June 9, however, in an interview with sports network ESPN striker Gonzalo Higuain confirmed that the match had been canceled.
Match Between #Argentina, Israel Cancelled under #BDS Pressure https://t.co/9jHcxWeVDn @PalestineChron pic.twitter.com/WwEWN3ULF6
— Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) June 5, 2018
Demonstrations against the game have been held in recent days in Buenos Aires and Barcelona outside the Argentine national team’s training camp.
#BDS: World Reacts as #Argentina Cancels Match with Israel https://t.co/chRRupDxbr via @PalestineChron pic.twitter.com/bUr5621EXK
— Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) June 6, 2018
The Arab League also urged Argentina to cancel the match, which was set to take place on the site of a Palestinian village in Jerusalem destroyed in the 1948 war.
The Arab League urges Argentina to cancel the pre-World Cup friendly. | #Jerusalem https://t.co/QiZ8YFyIQb
— Middle East Monitor (@MiddleEastMnt) June 5, 2018
The controversy over the match comes after Israeli troops killed more than 120 Palestinians and more than 13,000 have been injured since mass demonstrations began on March 30.
(Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, PC, Social Media)
