Moshe Hodge, owner of the Israeli football club Bethlehem Jerusalem, said on Thursday that he was scrapping plans for a friendly match with internationally renowned football club Barcelona because Barcelona had refused to play in Jerusalem. have done.
Remember that in the 1967 war, Israel occupied Jerusalem, which was not accepted internationally. Israel considers Jerusalem as its capital.
Moshe Hodge, owner of Bethlehem Jerusalem, called Barcelona's demand for the match in another city political.
According to him, when he found out that there were many other demands for the match on August 4, which he did not like, he became very depressed.
SEE ALSO: Israel demolishes the house of a Palestinian-American in the West Bank, he wrote on his Facebook page that he can not deceive Jerusalem.
Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Leon welcomed the decision and backed it. He said teams boycotting Jerusalem should be barred from entering Israel.
He said in a statement that Jerusalem was the capital of Israel and that its boycott was neither professional nor sports or educational.
According to the Associated Press, there was no immediate response from the Barcelona club.
The Bethlehem Club is the first Israeli football club to sign a deal with an Arab player, and according to the AP, its old fans have a history of being racist. Moshe Hodge says he wants to work against racism and will not support anti-Arab fans.
Sami Abu Shahida, a senior lawmaker in the Israeli parliament, was among those who called on Barcelona to cancel the match. According to him, Jerusalem represents the most extremist, racist and fascist class in Israeli society. In addition, Palestinian football clubs wrote to Barcelona not to play in Jerusalem.
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