The Palestinian Football Federation has thanked Lionel Messi and his Argentina teammates for cancelling their scheduled international friendly against Israel. The South American country had earlier announced that they would cancel the game which has been marred by protests from the Palestine community.
Striker Gonzalo Higuain had earlier confirmed that they would not play in Israel, claiming that by cancelling the game, the Argentina FA, “had done the right thing.” The game which was to be played in Israel was a subject of controversy as it was scheduled to take place in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Malha, which is situated on the site of a former Palestinian village destroyed during the war that established Israel 70 years ago.
“The Palestinian FA thanks Argentina’s players led by star Messi for refusing to be used to serve a non-sporting goal,” a statement by Palestinian FA read while The Palestinian FA chairman, Jibril Rajoub added, “Values, morals and sport have secured a victory today and a red card was raised at Israel through the cancellation of the game.”