Palestinian football team barred

Aug 22 2007 by Vicky Anderson, Liverpool Daily Post

A PALESTINIAN football team scheduled to land in the North West today for a series of friendly matches were refused visas just days before they were due to arrive.

The youth team would have played their equivalents at Tranmere Rovers, Chester City and Blackburn Rovers during a three-week training camp.

The visa decision has been condemned by organisations who have also highlighted that the Israeli national team will play in England next month.

Supporters of the Palestinians believe they have been barred amid fears the under-19 team will abscond and not return to their war-torn homeland.

Anti-poverty charity War on Want said the decision was disgraceful, and the organisation’s chief executive, Louise Richards, said: “The Israeli football team will be welcomed to Wembley to play England in the forthcoming Euro 2008 qualifier, despite the Israeli military’s continuing violation of Palestinian rights.

“This is another sign of the hypocrisy of the British Government in its treatment of the Palestinians.”

Rod Cox of CAPE (Chester and Palestine Exchange), who arranged the trip, said the Government had told him the decision was taken because the economic situation in Gaza, where the majority of the team are based, is so bad that they do not believe that the Palestinians will return home again.

He said: “They deny taking the decision for any politically motivated reason, although they did say at one point that it was because the Israelis would not allow them to return – and so would create a refugee issue, but they have since denied this.”

The Home Office refused to comment on the reasons for refusing the team’s visas.