Iranians cancel game due to Grant

[Lazie]

Partizan Belgrade manager Avram Grant claims Iranian side Sepahan Isfahan have pulled out of a friendly with his club because he is Israeli.

GettyImagesAvram Grant: Joined Partizan Belgrade in January



Partizan, who appointed Grant as their new manager last month, had been due to play the Iranians on Friday in Turkey, but their opponents, who hail from an Islamic republic, have pulled out of the match.
In an explanation posted on Partizan's official website, the former Chelsea, Portsmouth and West Ham United manager said he had been told "unofficially" that the match had been cancelled because he was Israeli, and called the decision "shameful".
"I never mixed politics with sports," Grant said. "I had worked with many [Muslims] while I was in England, and I made friends with many of them."
Partizan say they had to switch their usual winter preparations from Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, to the Turkish city of Antalya because of Grant's Israeli citizenship.

[Zeppo]

Wouldn't surprise me one bit if that were the reason.

And the final sentence of that article is especially sad.

[Paul Marin]

Wouldn't surprise me one bit if that were the reason.

And the final sentence of that article is especially sad.

Indeed. My father worked for 5 years in Saudi Arabia. I visited him there on two occasions and took the opportunity to also visit Jordan on one trip and Egypt on another and found those countries to be all very bigoted. It is lamentably hypocritical for Western countries to be beating their "anti-racism chests" while indirectly condoning discrimination in these countries by doing business with them. Countries like Saudi Arabia, UAE and other gulf states classify women as second (if not third) class citizens and racism against Indonesians and Pakistanis (imported to do the "dirty work") in places like Saudi Arabia is rampant...not to mention the "no jews allowed" sign at their doorsteps.

[Mosiah]

The Iranian team should be banned for years!

[Paul Marin]

The Iranian team should be banned for years!

That could only happen if there was hard proof. And I don't think there is - only speculation. What is more appropriate is the UAE being banned if Partizan really had to move their training from Dubai because of Grant's ethnicity. And believe me, a jewish person trying to get into a gulf state is harder than a camel passing through the eye of a needle so that would trigger a firestorm.

[Mosiah]

In an explanation posted on Partizan's official website, the former Chelsea, Portsmouth and West Ham United manager said he had been told "unofficially" that the match had been cancelled because he was Israeli, and called the decision "shameful".

Guess that would not count.

[Me]

Given that Israel has already sent their killing squad into Dubai, it looks like the camels are smaller nowadays.

[Hortical]

Israelis Just as Bigoted

Israelis are just as bigoted as their Arabic & Persian counterparts.
Arabs are denied citizenship in Israel, their ancestral lands are taken away, and their houses are bulldozed to accommodate Israelis.

South Tel Aviv Is On Fire
Protest to expel Africans from South Tel Aviv and all of Israel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8n-y24SzbCY&noredirect=1

[Paul Marin]

Israelis are just as bigoted as their Arabic & Persian counterparts.
Arabs are denied citizenship in Israel, their ancestral lands are taken away, and their houses are bulldozed to accommodate Israelis.

South Tel Aviv Is On Fire
Protest to expel Africans from South Tel Aviv and all of Israel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8n-y24SzbCY&noredirect=1

The difference is that the Isrealis don't deny entry to Arabs as a matter of policy, even though for an Arab to get a visa to Isreal is not easy and requires great patience. I am - for the record - not on either side of this fight, as both have their legitimate and illegitimate positions which are more difficult to decipher than the convulsion spaghetti-logic of my bredrin Jangle's posts...and that's saying something.

[Paul Marin]

Given that Israel has already sent their killing squad into Dubai, it looks like the camels are smaller nowadays.

Well...legitimately was implied. With all that tension, y'all better buy a Prius as gas will likely hit $5+/gallon this summer.