The international Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which campaigns for a complete boycott of Israel over its policies towards the Palestinians, had called on Argentina not to play against Israel, even before the venue moved from Haifa to Jerusalem.<doc-sep>Lionel Messi will not be leading Argentina onto the pitch for a World Cup warm-up against Israel after the game was called off following protests by pro-Palestinian groups. A source at Argentina’s football federation confirmed the cancellation of the international friendly scheduled to be played on Saturday at Teddy Kollek Stadium in Jerusalem. Read More The head of the Palestinian football association, Jibril Rajoub, had urged Argentina to cancel the match and had called on Arab football fans to burn posters of Argentina captain Lionel Messi if he participated. Expand Close Jibril Rajoub speaks at a press conference in front of the Argentinian representative office in the West Bank city of Ramallah (Nasser Shiyoukhi/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Jibril Rajoub speaks at a press conference in front of the Argentinian representative office in the West Bank city of Ramallah (Nasser Shiyoukhi/AP) Although the stadium that was slated to host the match is in west Jerusalem, Mr Rajoub had complained that it is in a neighbourhood built on the site of a former Palestinian village destroyed during the war surrounding Israel’s creation in 1948. He has long urged Fifa to expel Israel from the international football federation, citing Israeli travel restrictions on Palestinian players and because Israel maintains teams in West Bank settlements. The cancellation came hours after pro-Palestinian activists staged a demonstration in front of the sports complex in Barcelona where Argentina are preparing ahead of the World Cup. Some waved the blue and white striped kit of Argentina’s national team stained with red paint resembling blood. “In the end, they’ve done right thing, and this is behind us,” Argentina striker Gonzalo Higuain told ESPN. “Health and common sense come first. We felt that it wasn’t right to go.” Expand Close The Argentina squad in training in Barcelona (Manu Fernandez/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The Argentina squad in training in Barcelona (Manu Fernandez/AP) Argentina open their Group D campaign in Russia against Iceland on June 16. They then play Croatia on June 21 and Nigeria on June 26. It is unclear whether Argentina will play another warm-up, or arrive in Moscow ahead of schedule. There was no immediate reaction on the cancellation from Israel, but Israeli news site Ynet reported that prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu had called Argentine President Mauricio Macri and urged him to intervene. The cancellation was seen as a victory for the global Palestinian anti-Israel campaign. The grassroots movement advocates boycotts, divestment and sanctions against Israel in what supporters say is a way to promote Palestinian rights through non-violent means. But Israel says the campaign goes beyond Israeli occupation of lands claimed by the Palestinians and masks a deeper aim of delegitimising or even destroying the country. It has formed a government ministry whose primary mission is to combat the boycott movement. The movement said the Argentinian team had responded to “creative campaigning” denouncing what it called Israel’s “sports-washing of its crimes against Palestinians”. Israel captured east Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war and later annexed the area in a move not recognised by the international community. The Palestinians claim east Jerusalem as the capital of a future state. The Palestinians have also been outraged by President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and his decision to move the US Embassy to the city. The Argentine decision may also have been influenced by deadly violence along the Israeli-Gaza border. More than 115 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 3,700 wounded during near-weekly protests along the Israeli border, according to Palestinian health officials. The vast majority have been unarmed.<doc-sep>Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Wednesday slammed the Argentina national football team over the cancellation of a planned friendly against Israel in Jerusalem, calling it a surrender to hate. “It’s a shame that Argentina’s footballing nobility did not withstand the pressure from Israeli-hating inciters,” he wrote on Twitter in the first response from an Israeli cabinet minister. The Israeli embassy in Argentina earlier announced the “suspension” of Saturday’s sold-out game because of what it called “threats and provocations” against Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi. The World Cup warm-up appearance in Jerusalem was hotly opposed by Palestinians, who claim the eastern part of the city, annexed by Israel, as the capital of their future state. The Jewish state considers the entire city its own “indivisible” capital. READ ALSO: Argentina-Israel friendly called off The Argentina about-turn comes at a time of fierce criticism of the Israeli army over the use of lethal force against Palestinian protesters on the Gaza Strip border with the Jewish state. Gazans have since March 30 been holding border protests demanding the return of Palestinians to land they fled or were expelled from during the 1948 war surrounding Israel’s creation, now inside the Jewish state. At least 125 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli gunfire on the frontier since March 30. The sole aim of opponents of the Jerusalem game, Lieberman said Wednesday, was “to strike at our basic right to self-defence and to bring about the destruction of Israel”. “We shall not surrender to a group of anti-semites,” he added. (AFP)<doc-sep>
Argentina haven’t had the steadiest of preparations for the 2018 World Cup, that’s for sure. With only a handful of international matches under their belt this year, Lionel Messi and co. may well be feeling slightly underdone ahead of the tournament in Russia. The Argentines have played just five times since the conclusion of their qualifying campaign in November, the last of which being a 4-0 win over Haiti in May. That was off the back of a 6-1 thrashing at the hands of Spain - a result that took the gloss off their 2-0 victory against Italy four days earlier. Until now, the South Americans had been scheduled to contest a friendly with Israel in Jerusalem on Saturday as their final warm-up before the World Cup. But the Argentine Football Association has chosen to call off the fixture amid threats from pro-Palestinian protesters, per Sky News. The head of their Palestinian counterpart, Jibril Rajoub, had encouraged fans to burn shirts bearing Messi's name if he played. Mr Rajoub - who claims he asked Argentina’s government to prevent the Barcelona star from taking part - said: “The Israeli government is trying to give it political significance by insisting it [the match] be held in Jerusalem,” adding that Messi was "a symbol of peace and love”. "We ask him not to participate in laundering the crimes of the occupation." The Israeli embassy also referred to unspecified "threats" and "provocations" against Messi in its response to the cancellation of the friendly. Argentina boss Jorge Sampaoli had previously indicated reservations about leaving their Spanish training camp to travel to Israel. He said: "From a sporting point of view, I would have preferred to play in Barcelona. "But that's the way it is, we have to travel on the day before the match, play Israel in Israel and then from there go on to Russia.” Eight days out from the beginning of the World Cup, the 58-year-old now has to oversee his side’s preparation entirely behind closed doors. Argentina take on Iceland in their first group stage match at Spartak Stadium on 16 June. News Now - Sport News