Palestinians hail Argentina and Messi for calling off Jerusalem match

[Mosby]

JERUSALEM/RAMALLAH (Reuters) - Palestinian soccer officials praised Argentina and its star Lionel Messi on Wednesday for calling off a friendly match against Israel that Israeli officials had planned to move to Jerusalem.

Argentina’s final World Cup warm-up against Israel was originally slated to be held in the Israeli coastal city of Haifa but was moved to Jerusalem at the urging of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. Argentina striker Gonzalo Higuain announced on Tuesday it was cancelled.

“The Israelis tried to use Messi and those stars from Argentina, and I would like to thank them and appreciate their decision, which I think was on the right track,” Palestinian Football Association President Jibril Rajoub told a news conference on Wednesday in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

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Israel’s Football Association accused the Palestinians of crossing a “red line” by inciting anger towards the Argentinian players in order to scupper the match. It said it would complain to soccer world governing body FIFA about Rajoub’s comments, which it described as “physical and brutal threats”.

The Palestinians opposed the decision to hold the match in Jerusalem, accusing Israel of seeking to use the fixture, and especially the presence of global star Messi, to underpin Israel’s claim to the Holy City.


https://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-palestinians-argentina-soccer/palestinians-hail-argentina-and-messi-for-calling-off-jerusalem-match-idUSKCN1J21IU