Palestinian FA: Fans should burn Messi's shirt if he plays in Israel game
Palestianian Federation chief Jibril Rajoub doesn’t want Lionel Messi to be in the game, as he believes that it would be a publicity stunt for Israel.
Rajoub is encouraging fans to burn Messi in effigy, as well as shirts of the Argentine, is he plays in Saturday’s friendly with Israel.
The latter are coming under some very strong criticism from the international community over their handling of the Gaza situation.
Dozens of (mostly unarmed) Palestinian protesters have died in recent weeks, and the country’s FA doesn’t want the football to give legitimacy to Israel.
Rajoub’s solution to the issue is rather unique:
"He's a big symbol so we are going to target him personally and we call on all to burn his picture and his shirt and to abandon him," he told reporters Sunday.
"We still hope that Messi will not come."