Argentina cancels match against Israel in Jerusalem

BUENOS AIRES, (Patria) - The friendly match between the football teams of Israel and Argentina has been cancelled due to the fear of Argentine players of Palestinian protests, Argentine media report, as cited by Goal.com.

Palestinian pressure seems to have paid off after all. The friendly match between Israel and Argentina, scheduled for Saturday, will not be played! At least, that is the information available to leading Argentine media.

Let us recall, Palestinians have been up in arms recently over the intention of the Argentinians to play a match with Israel. They threatened to burn the jerseys and photos of Lionel Messi and called on him to boycott the match.

- Due to the threats and controversy surrounding the situation in Palestine, the match will not be played. Coach Jorge Sampaoli is seeking to play a match in Barcelona - writes the Argentine sports newspaper Ole.

Palestinians protested against this match because they see it as a political instrument of the Israeli authorities, and even the Palestinian Football Association sent an official letter to their Argentine counterparts, requesting them to cancel the match. The associations have not yet officially commented, but everyone expects the match to be cancelled.

Reportedly, Argentine national team players held a meeting with the head of the Association, Claudio Tapia, and told him that they did not want to go to Jerusalem for fear of possible protests. The Spanish newspaper As also reports that Palestinian refugee children sent a letter to the Argentinians, stating that the match would be played at the Teddy Kollek Stadium, built on the ruins of their destroyed village.

The Israeli Embassy confirmed that the match would not be played, and Argentine national team player Gonzalo Higuain stated:

- I think it is the right thing to do in the end. It is behind us now, obviously our health and a reasonable decision come first, and it is right not to go there.

The Palestinian Football Association issued a statement expressing gratitude to Messi and his colleagues.

- The Palestinian Association thanks the Argentine national team, led by star Messi, for refusing to serve an unsportsmanlike cause - the statement read.

The president of the association, Jibril Rajoub, as reported by Reuters, added: "Values, morals, and sport have achieved victory today, and a red card has been shown to Israel through the cancellation of the match.".

The national team is currently in Barcelona preparing for the World Cup, and they were supposed to travel to Israel on Thursday, play the match on Saturday, and then head to Russia.