Argentina, Don't Go! Call to Boycott Soccer Game in Israel Stirs Reactions

Friendly football matches are not under the auspices of the international soccer federation or FIFA, and the Argentina-Israel game scheduled for June 9 in Tel Aviv just might not happen and here is why.
Sputnik

The Argentine Committee of Solidarity with Palestine is calling on Argentina's national football team to cancel the match against Israel's national football team, just one week before the opening of the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

The committee, comprising several human rights organizations, as well as the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, presented a letter to the Argentine Football Association, or AFA, objecting to the game in Tel Aviv.

According to the letter, if the game is cancelled, it would "represent the solidarity of values ​​of the Argentine people towards other peoples who are victims of oppression, apartheid and genocide."

The boycott campaign progressed on social media under the hashtag #ArgentinaNoVayas.

A big fan of Argentinean soccer stars Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin has previously said Israel should learn from Argentina.

"We in Israel are doing everything well, except playing soccer," he said.

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