PLO: Friendly football matches between Arab states and Israel are “an insult” and “a serious and deep stab in the heart of every free Arab”
In an official statement, the PLO Supreme Council for Youth and Sports has condemned football teams from Morocco and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for participating in friendly matches with Israeli teams in Israel.

The PLO council called the matches “an insult” to Palestinians and “a serious and deep stab in the heart of every free Arab.” It warned the Arab teams not to “fall into the trap of a Nazi occupation,” stating that it would shake their hands with hands “covered in the blood of Palestine’s children.” [Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Dec. 14, 2021]

Similarly, a regular columnist for the official PA daily complained over the Palestinian media’s lack of focus on “the stench of normalization that wafted from” the match between the FIFA Arab Legends team and the FIFA World Legends team in Dubai on Dec. 17, 2021. The “stench” arose from the fact that an Israeli who the columnist coined “Zionist coach Avram Grant,” was coaching FIFA World Legends team:

“I [was] monitoring the normalization match between the former Arab stars and the former world stars, which took place two days before the [Arab Cup] final in the presence of Zionist coach Avram Grant… The media did not focus on Algerian stars Rabah Madjer, Rafik Saïfi, and Rafik Halliche’s withdrawal from the match in protest of the stench of normalization that wafted from it.”

[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Dec. 21, 2021]