Argentina Israel friendly is cancelled

The Israeli embassy in Argentina officially announced on Tuesday night that the friendly match scheduled for this Saturday between Argentina and Israel has been cancelled. "The threats and provocations against Lionel Messi, which logically raised fears against holding the game, are not foreign to the daily lives of the Israeli population, whose athletes have often been the target of violence and terror attacks," said the embassy. Reports in Argentina on Tuesday night said the match was cancelled earlier following Palestinian Arab pressure on the Argentine team not to play in Jerusalem. Culture and Sports Minister Miri Regev  later spoke with the organizer of the friendly. "I hope that Argentina's players will not succumb to the terror threats and to the BDS organizations,"said Regev. Earlier this week, Palestinian Football Association chief Jibril Rajoub called on Messi not to play in the friendly game in Jerusalem, urging fans to burn his shirts if he does. On Tuesday night, Rajoub welcomed the cancellation of the friendly game. "The Palestinian FA thanks Argentina's players led by star Messi for refusing to be used to serve a non-sporting goal. Values, morals and sport have secured a victory today and a red card was raised at Israel through the cancellation of the game,” he said.