Fri Jul 16, 2021 1:09 pm
An Israeli football club, whose fanbase is known for racism and anti-Palestinian chants, has cancelled a friendly match with FC Barcelona, following the Spanish club's request not to hold the event in Jerusalem.
Friday 16th July 2021
Beitar Jerusalem's owner Moshe Hogeg said on Thursday that he had received "an unequivocal demand" from FC Barcelona that the pre-season friendly must not be played in the city and so he called it off.
Jerusalem's eastern neighbourhoods have been occupied by Israel since the 1967 war, and are seen by the Palestinians as the capital of any future state. Israel says Jerusalem is its undivided capital.
"With great sorrow I had to cancel the game against Barcelona," Hogeg wrote in a Facebook post.