Israeli athletes: Keep politics off pitch
Soccer players take to YouTube to protest Palestinian bid to have Israeli Football Association banned from FIFA
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Israeli soccer players jumped into international politics in a video appeal to FIFA to dismiss a Palestinian bid to ban the Israel from international football.
The video uploaded on Thursday by the New Organization of Football Players in Israel calls on FIFA to “Play the ball not the state” and leave politics out of soccer.
“Football is universal, we leave the politics aside to play football,” the players say. “All of us together: Jews, Muslims and Christians.”
“Football is a beautiful game, so please don’t spoil it,” they urge.
The video was released ahead of the annual FIFA Congress, which begins on May 28, and will deal with the Palestinian Football Association’s proposal to suspend the Israel Football Association from world football.
The PFA says Israel imposes restrictions on the freedom of movement of its players, and protests the existence of five Israeli teams in settlements, built on land the Palestinians want for a future state.
The IFA says it has no say over the security issues which can cause difficulties in players’ travel within and from the West Bank, and calls the Palestinian bid an unsportsmanlike attempt to mix politics with sports. The IFA has called on FIFA to reject the bid out of hand, but despite FIFA President Sepp Blatter’s opposition to the Palestinians’ move, he said during a visit to Israel last week that he couldn’t have it removed from the agenda.
AFP contributed to this report.
The Times of Israel Community.