RAMALLAH, June 3, 2018 (WAFA) – Jibril Rjoub, head of the Palestinian Football Association, called on the Argentinean football star, Lionel Messi, ahead of the Argentine football game set to be held with the Israeli team in Jerusalem, not to play a role in whitewashing the occupation, considering his role as UNICEF‘S Goodwill Ambassador a symbol of love and peace, as Rjoub described it.
Argentina is going to play the Israeli football team on June 9 as part of its preparations to play in the World Cup in Russia.
Rjoub said at a press conference during a sit-in held in front of the Argentine‘s Representative Office in Ramallah in protest of holding the football game in Jerusalem that the Israeli occupation has turned a friendly football game between the Argentine and Israeli football teams into a political tool.
He stressed that the Argentine confederation‘s insistence on this sports event in Jerusalem, which was placed under international tutelage, comes in line with US President Donald‘s recent decisions on Jerusalem. "This is in contradiction with United Nations resolutions and FIFA regulations," he said.
Rjoub said that the Argentine ambassador assured him that the match would not change Argentina‘s relationship with Palestine or its stand from Jerusalem as an occupied city.
However, he maintained that "this is not a game of peace; it is a political game aimed at whitewashing the face of the fascist and racist occupation."
He expressed hope that the Argentine confederation would call off the game because "they are helping a fascist occupation that refuses to obey United Nations resolutions, whilst Palestinian players are being detained and sports institutions are being attacked by Israel."
The game is set to be held in the village of al-Malha, in Jerusalem, which was occupied as part of the battle for south Jerusalem during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.
Around 70 Palestinian children whose families were expelled from Malha village participated in the sit-in and delivered a letter to the Argentine ambassador expressing their disappointment in the Argentine national team for intending to play a game on their land and on top of their forefathers graves, particularly following statements made by Israeli officials that the game was played as part of Israel‘s commemoration of 70 years since its creation.
T.R.
