100s rally against Israel at key soccer match in Wales
Hundreds of British soccer fans have staged a protest rally in the city of Cardiff against Israeli atrocities in the occupied Palestinian territories, demanding that Israel be booted out of international sport.
The protest event was held on Sunday ahead of the Euro 2016 qualifying game between Israel and Wales as the British fans of a variety of soccer clubs converged outside the Welsh capital and marched through the city center to Cardiff City Stadium in a bid to highlight the plight of Palestinians subjected to oppression by the Israeli regime.
“Israel can’t be part of Europe, can’t be part of European sport if it denies the people of Palestine their right to life, their right to a sporting life,” said protester Adie Mormech, as cited in a report by British daily the Guardian.
“We’ve tried diplomacy, we’ve tried everything, it’s time to say: ‘Enough is enough,’” he added.
Mormech, according to the report, was among hundreds of soccer fans who had traveled to Cardiff “not to find out if the national team would reach a major tournament for the first time since 1958, but to protest against their opponents, Israel, and show solidarity with the Palestinian people.”
“I’m a Manchester United fan,” said the protester. “But this is such an important cause, you have to put aside the usual loyalties.”
A Manchester resident, Mormech added that he had worked as a teacher in the Israeli-besieged Gaza Strip and had witnessed the suffering of the Palestinian people there. He emphasized that all aspects of life across Palestine, including sports, were impacted by the “illegal occupation.”
The report pointed to the participation of a women’s soccer team from Bristol in the pro-Palestinian demonstration, saying that the squad had traveled to the West Bank last autumn to play local teams and learn more about the situation there under Israeli occupation.
“What we saw really affected us, how they are restricted in their movements, the daily oppression they are subjected to. We promised when we came back we’d share their story. We’re here to represent the people we played with there and the people we met there,” said the team’s spokeswoman Isabel O’Hagan as quoted in the report.
O’Hagan further said that it was a “shame” to mix sport and politics, adding, “But sport is a freedom, a way of expressing yourself. Accepting [Israel] playing here is like accepting the occupation.”
The development comes as the British parliament will have to consider a petition for detaining Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the UK since the number of the signatures on it has surpassed the 100,000 mark needed for a parliamentary debate.
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