Palestine Hails Spanish Football Club’s Refusal to Play in Occupied Al-Quds
The match was scheduled to take place on August 4 in Jerusalem al-Quds but
“We express our appreciation for the respect of the Catalan club [FC Barcelona] to the feelings of millions of its fans worldwide who were appalled by the idea that the club which appreciates human rights will play with one of the most racist clubs in the world,” the Palestinian Football Association said in a statement, Anadolu Agency reported.
Jibril Rajoub, the Secretary-General of Fatah group's Central Committee and head of the Palestinian Football Association, described the move by FC Barcelona as “an honest expression of Barcelona's true identity and its respect to millions of its fans worldwide.”
On Thursday, Israel's Beitar football club cancelled a friendly match with FC Barcelona over the latter’s refusal to play in the occupied city of Jerusalem al-Quds.
The club's owner, Moshe Hogg, said FC Barcelona refused to play in Jerusalem al-Quds and therefore he decided to cancel the match.
Palestinians accuse the fans of the Beitar club of racism as they were caught several times chanting racist slogans against Arabs and Islam’s sanctities.
