(ATR) Football clubs and NGOs in Palestine are calling on UEFA, football's European governing body, not to select Israel as a host for the 2020 UEFA European Championship.
A total of 19 football associations hoping to host matches for Euro 2020 submitted bid dossiers to UEFA in April.Those associations include:Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, England, former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, Republic of Ireland, Romania, Russia, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, and Wales.
On Sept. 19, the UEFA executive committee will appoint 13 cities to stage matches in the Euro 2020 tournament.
In a letter submitted to UEFA president Michel Platini on Sept. 9, Palestinian clubs and NGOs explained why the football governing body should not choose Israel as a host city for Euro 2020.
"UEFA would be sending a morally troubling message of approval--or even a reward for--Israel’s grave violations of human rights in Gaza, East Jerusalem and elsewhere," the letter stated.
BothJibril Rajoub, head of the Palestine Olympic Committee, and the Palestine Football Association were absent among the letter's signatories.
James M. Dorsey, senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, says the campaign against Israel is partof a boycott spurred by the recent seven-week long Israeli Palestinian war in Gaza.
Written byNicole Bennett
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