Palestinian clubs urge Inter and Atletico Madrid to cancel friendly match in ‘Israel’

Occupied Palestine (QNN)- Over 200 Palestinian Football and Sports Clubs have urged Inter and Atletico Madrid to cancel a pre-season “friendly” match scheduled on August 8 in ‘Israel’.
The clubs explained in a letter the reasons behind their urging, as they opposed the location of the so-called friendly match which will take place on the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories where ‘Israel’ commits violations and crimes against Palestinians.
In the letter, the clubs highlighted some of the abuses committed by Israeli occupation towards Palestinian civilians, and asked how major football clubs can give legitimacy to the Israeli occupation by participating in a “friendly” match.
In the letter, the clubs highlighted that their own ability to compete is inhibited heavily by restrictions on freedom of movement and apartheid which Palestinians are subject to by ‘Israel’.
“Israel has ended the careers of dozens of Palestinian athletes. Israel restricts our freedom of movement, which means we are not free to travel, to train, or to play against our Palestinian counterparts,” the clubs noted in the letter.
“It also means that our chances of travelling to play against other regional or international teams are very limited.”
They also pointed out that among the victims of Israeli military strikes on Palestinian civilians are footballers and other athletes.
“In May alone, Israeli soldiers killed two promising footballers, 16-year-old Said Odeh of Balata FC in the occupied West Bank and Muath Nabil Al-Zaanin of Beit Hanoun FC in Gaza,” they said.
The clubs have also launched an online campaign using the hashtag #NothingFriendly on social media, aiming to draw attention to the issue and to stop the match from taking place.
There's #NothingFriendly about killing children.
Israeli soldiers killed Palestinian footballer Said Odeh, age 16, in May.
His team, Balata FC, and 200 other Palestinian teams call on @atleti and @Inter to cancel “friendly” match in apartheid Israel. https://t.co/IIjEvFL5Co pic.twitter.com/VM5k9GnXX7
— PACBI (@PACBI) July 15, 2021
Another pre-season game in ‘Israel’ between Beitar Jerusalem and FC Barcelona was supposed to take place on August 4 in the occupied Jerusalem. However, the match was canceled after more than 200 Palestinian teams urged FC Barcelona to cancel the “friendly” match.