Argentina cancel friendly in Israel

[TSwizzle]

Pitiful.

Argentina have cancelled their final World Cup warm-up match against Israel that had been scheduled for Saturday, federation officials and players said on Tuesday. The game had been a subject of controversy as it was set to be played 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 move comes in the wake of Palestinian Football Federation chief Jibril Rajoub calling on Arab and Muslim fans to burn photos and T-shirts of Argentina superstar Lionel Messi if he attended the game.

Argentine Football Association vice president Hugo Moyano said threats to the team as they trained in Barcelona were affecting the players' families. On Tuesday, a group of Catalan pro-Palestinian protesters called out the names of the players and asked them not to participate in the "cover-up" of a social conflict. Photos on social media showed an Argentina shirt stained in "blood."

"I think it's a good thing that the match between Argentina and Israel was suspended," Moyano told Radio 10. "The right thing was done; it's not worth it. The stuff that happens in those places, where they kill so many people, as a human being you can't accept that in any way. The players' families were suffering due to the threats."

ESPN

I can't say I blame the AFA for backing out after all the threats.

 

[steve_bank]

Argentina, the bastion of liberty and democracy and human rights.

 

[Angra Mainyu]

Pitiful.

Argentina have cancelled their final World Cup warm-up match against Israel that had been scheduled for Saturday, federation officials and players said on Tuesday. The game had been a subject of controversy as it was set to be played 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 move comes in the wake of Palestinian Football Federation chief Jibril Rajoub calling on Arab and Muslim fans to burn photos and T-shirts of Argentina superstar Lionel Messi if he attended the game.

Argentine Football Association vice president Hugo Moyano said threats to the team as they trained in Barcelona were affecting the players' families. On Tuesday, a group of Catalan pro-Palestinian protesters called out the names of the players and asked them not to participate in the "cover-up" of a social conflict. Photos on social media showed an Argentina shirt stained in "blood."

"I think it's a good thing that the match between Argentina and Israel was suspended," Moyano told Radio 10. "The right thing was done; it's not worth it. The stuff that happens in those places, where they kill so many people, as a human being you can't accept that in any way. The players' families were suffering due to the threats."

ESPN

I can't say I blame the AFA for backing out after all the threats.

AFA's choice was to get into a public fight with the team or back out, but either way, the game was not happening because the team members decided not to go, apparently following Messi's decision - he was understandably afraid.

 

[TSwizzle]

Argentina, the bastion of liberty and democracy and human rights.

Maybe Argentina could host a world cup !

 

[Angra Mainyu]

Argentina, the bastion of liberty and democracy and human rights.

There is democracy, and it's neither a bastion nor something particularly bad with regard to liberty or human rights - probably better on the liberty scale. But that aside, how is that related to the matter at hand?

 

[steve_bank]

I have criticisms of Israel, but there is credence to the claim of a general bias against Israel. In part probably remaining undercurrents of anti Semitism, on the rise in Europe.

 

[Derec]

Argentina, the bastion of liberty and democracy and human rights.

And also the country which gave refuge to this guy, among others.

 

[Angra Mainyu]

Argentina, the bastion of liberty and democracy and human rights.

And also the country which gave refuge to this guy, among others.

But how is Argentina's history relevant to the matter at hand?

Suppose a team member decided not to go to Israel out of (understandable) fear of retribution against him or his family from leftist radicals at best, and Hamas or its supporters at worst. How is his behavior immoral, or in any way related to the matter?

Suppose a team member decided not to go out of (partially) moral condemnation of Israel, hatred of Israel, etc., even though they have no problem going to Russia or much worse. Then, how would the history of Argentina makes his behavior (more) immoral? Would it be worse if he were German, because Germany did worse than protecting fleeing Nazis? Would it be better if he were, say, British? (but then, you can find horrible things in pretty much every country's history?)

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I have criticisms of Israel, but there is credence to the claim of a general bias against Israel. In part probably remaining undercurrents of anti Semitism, on the rise in Europe.

Sure, but how is the matter of democracy, liberty or human rights in Argentina relevant to the question at hand?

By the way, they were not planning to boycott Israel until some of the players and their families were threatened, so even though some of the players hate Israel, that does not seem to have been the motivation of all or most of them. But even if it had been, how is that relevant to the matter at hand?

If he acted out of fear, what does the situation in Argentina makes it wrong? And if he acted out of hatred of Israel because he sides with Hamas, etc., how would the situation in Argentina makes it wrong, or worse?

 

[Derec]

But how is Argentina's history relevant to the matter at hand?

It's bad optics given their shady history.

Suppose a team member decided not to go to Israel out of (understandable) fear of retribution against him or his family from leftist radicals at best, and Hamas or its supporters at worst. How is his behavior immoral, or in any way related to the matter?

It is certainly cowardly.

Suppose a team member decided not to go out of (partially) moral condemnation of Israel, hatred of Israel, etc., even though they have no problem going to Russia or much worse. Then, how would the history of Argentina makes his behavior (more) immoral? Would it be worse if he were German, because Germany did worse than protecting fleeing Nazis? Would it be better if he were, say, British? (but then, you can find horrible things in pretty much every country's history?)

If Germany did this, comparisons to the Nazi past would almost certainly be made.

By the way, is this karma or what?
Suck it, Messi.

 

[Angra Mainyu]

It's bad optics given their shady history.

What do you mean by "bad optics"?
As for "shady history", again, how is the history of Argentina relevant to the morality of the players' choices?
Would it be wrong if, say, they had boycotted Russia because of Putin's crimes? If so, would it be not wrong if, say, players from a country with a non-shady history (pick your choice) had boycotted Russia because of Putin's crimes?

Suppose a team member decided not to go to Israel out of (understandable) fear of retribution against him or his family from leftist radicals at best, and Hamas or its supporters at worst. How is his behavior immoral, or in any way related to the matter?

It is certainly cowardly.

I disagree. It's a reasonable response, and "cowardly" generally indicates moral reprobation. But again, how would the history of Argentina have anything at all to do with whether his behavior is immoral? Would you consider it less cowardly if the players were from another country? If so, why?

If Germany did this, comparisons to the Nazi past would almost certainly be made.

Certaily, and they would be out of place. But that doesn't address my point.

By the way, is this karma or what?
Suck it, Messi.

I don't know all of the details, but as far as I know, Messi feared for his family and himself, which again would be reasonable. Why do you think he behaved immorally?
Regardless, obviously it's not karma, because there is no such thing.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

What do you mean by "bad optics"?

In this case, "optics" is referring to how something appears from a public relations standpoint.

Thus "bad optics" = "looks bad".

 

[Angra Mainyu]

What do you mean by "bad optics"?

In this case, "optics" is referring to how something appears from a public relations standpoint.

Thus "bad optics" = "looks bad".

If that's what he meant, then I would say it does not look bad or worse because of Argentina's past (more precisely, not the immediate past, but the past involving protection for Nazis, etc.; there are some events in the immediate past that might be relevant, if they involve the players), except in the eyes of those who believe that Argentina's past is relevant to the matter at hand. But they are mistaken.