FIFA score embarrassing own goal against Israel .

This soccer season has been a season of discontent between Israel and FIFA, soccer's world governing body. FIFA mounted a worldwide campaign to kick racism out of the beautiful game. This was widely applauded – until it came to actions taken against Israel , and Jewish soccer players. It seems that racism only applies to protecting coloured and Arab players and teams.

Racism and isolation is not only tolerated, but actively pursued, against Israel and against Israeli Jewish players, both by FIFA, and by prominent soccer teams. It needs to be stressed that recent Israeli national soccer teams comprised of players that are Jewish, Christian, and Muslim. Arab or Jew achieve selection to the national squad on merit alone. Not according to their religion or skin colour. This seasons games have seen Arab players as leading goal scorers, and positive influences for the reasonably successful Israeli team.

Things are different for Israeli players in Britain . Yosi Benayoun and Tal Ben Haim are well liked by fans at their respective English soccer clubs. They have contributed to successful seasons by their talent. They participate in the campaign to Kick Racism out of Soccer, which has been a highlight of the English soccer season this year. When it comes to sharing the perks with their clubmates, however, they have been treated shabbily. It can be described as racism against the Jewish players.

Both West Ham United and Bolton Wanderers have enjoyed breaks by accepting invitations for a few days R&R in sunny Dubai. All the players and management that is with the exception of the Israeli players, Yosi Benayoun, Yaniv Katan, and Tal Ben Haim. Dubai instructed the English clubs that the Jewish players would not be allowed entry into the Arab sheikhdom. So, the clubs complied with this discrimination and left their Israeli players behind. In a lame excuse, the press office of West Ham said that they had provided their Israeli players with a break in Spain. They might as well have sent them to Coventry

If West Ham truly adopted the kick racism our of sport motto why did they not refuse to go to Dubai and take all their players to join Benayoun and Katan in Spain instead ? Surely this would have projected a United front against blatant racism. Instead, they are guilty of adopting the discriminatory norms imposed by their Arab hosts and, thereby, isolated their Jewish players.

And where was FIFA in all this ? The World soccer organization has actively launched the 'Kick Racism out of Soccer' campaign. Yet, they did nothing, remained silent, while racial discrimination was being practised with their knowledge and approval. Actually, they were not being silent. They were, in fact, attacking Israel .

Recently, rockets were launched from a soccer field in Gaza , injuring a number of Israelis, including children. The Israeli army responded with an artillery barrage into the soccer pitch. FIFA was apoplectic against Israel for causing damage to one of their soccer pitches. Initially, they demanded that Israel pay to the reconstruction. When Israel refused, FIFA told the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority that they would cover the cost of repairing the ground but that they intended to meet to decide what action FIFA would take against Israel. This meeting is likely to be held next week. Nowhere, in the FIFA protest, did they censure the Palestinian Authority for allowing one of their soccer grounds to be used as a launchpad for rocket attacks against innocent Israelis.

Let us look at the silence of FIFA when applied to other abuses of soccer fields, and players, in other countries. Soccer fields have regularly been used for execution in countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan. The Afghan soccer Coach, Habib Ullaniazi, reported that thirty people were executed during the halftime break in a game at the Kabul Stadium. Pictures are available of women being shot in front of a soccer stadium packed with howling spectators, and people hanging from the goalposts. But this sort of abuse does not raise the hackles of FIFA. Only Israeli response to a rocket attack from the Gaza stadium does that.

Uday, the son of Saadam Hussein, was the head of the Iraqi national squad. He tortured many of the players following a humiliating defeat. These tortures took place in the offices of the Iraqi Olympic Committee in Baghdad. This did not produce a protest or censure, neither from the International Olympic Committee, nor from FIFA. Only Israel is open to criticism.

When Pinochet detained 7000 prisoners in Chiles ' national stadium FIFA said nothing. FIFA refused to condemn the decision of the Palestinian Soccer Authority to create a soccer tournament in the honour of the terrorist who murdered over thirty people at Passover in Netanya's Park Hotel in 2002.

FIFA failed to condemn the suicide bombing at Haifa 's Maxim Restaurant that injured three Israeli soccer officials. FIFA is the body deserving of criticism and censure, not Israel .

Barry Shaw

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