Israel-Argentina Soccer Friendly Cancelled Following Palestinian Threats
Written by Mara Vigevani/TPS on June 06, 2018
The Israeli embassy in Argentina confirmed Wednesday that Saturday night’s friendly match between the two national soccer teams, which had been scheduled to take place at Teddy Stadium in Jerusalem, had been cancelled.
Palestinian officials, including Jibril Rajoub, a former Palestinian Authority Preventive Security Force who now serves as head of the Palestinian Football Association, had called on Argentina to cancel the match and called on Palestinians to burn photos and T-shirts of forward Lionel Messi if the game if the star of the national team participated in the game.
The Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires downplayed the incident, saying “relations between Argentina and the State of Israel will not hinge on a football game. Our democratic, pluralistic country (which is composed of Jewish, Muslim and Christian citizens) will always welcome Argentine sports stars.”
Responding to initial news of the cancellation, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is currently on a three-day European tour aimed at persuading Germany, France and the United Kingdom to impose to tougher measures on Tehran, asked Argentine President Mauricio Macri to convince the national team to change their mind, but with no success.
Culture and Sport Minister Miri Regev who pushed to have the game moved to Jerusalem and invited “Messi to come to pray at the Western Wall” accused BDS movement of being behind decision to cancel the match , and expressed hopes Argentina would change its mind.
Even Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman expressed his disappointment to the decision of Argentinian football team
“It is a shame that the soccer players from Argentina did not withstand the pressure of those who hate Israel, whose only goal is to violate our basic right to self-defense. We will not surrender to a group of anti-Semites who support terrorism,” he wrote on Twitter.
Despite Hebrew-language reports that the Argentine team had decided several days ago not to play in Jerusalem and had not even prepared a schedule, a source closely involved with planning the visit told TPS that everything had been set.
“We had a schedule; everything was ready. The Argentine team had booked their flight. They canceled because they surrendered to terror and incitement.
“This is a violation of the (peaceful message that sports are supposed to promote). We are very disappointed. Anyone who surrenders to terror eventually gets it at home,” the source said.
The schedule also included practice sessions with Jewish, Christian and Muslim children to promote dialogue.
Update: The Israel Football Association is expected to demand NIS 2.2 million (15,395,262 Argentine Pesos, US $617,543) in damages from the Asociación del Fútbol Argentino. The Argentine soccer federation has navigated a financial and administrative crisis for years, with charges of corruption that have reportedly cost the association millions of dollars. Last year, team captain Messi – whose $667,00o weekly salary playing for Barcelona was accompanied by a $59 million signing bonus last year and reportedly includes an $800 million buyout clause if the team breaks the contract before it expires in 2021 – reportedly paid the salaries for the team’s security detail after the guards went six months without being paid from the Asociación del Fútbol.