In a letter to The Guardian, Desmond Tutu and a group of politicians, actors, playwrights and sports personalities, urged UEFA not to hold the Under-21 European Championship in Israel.
Citing a London Congress last week, where UEFA decided that heavier punishments should be in place to tackle racism amongst footballers, the signatories argued that the same principle should be applied for Israel.
The letter stated,
‘On Friday, delegates from European football associations gathered in a London hotel for UEFA's annual congress. They agreed new, strict guidelines to deal with racism, suggesting a commendable determination to combat discrimination in the sport.’
‘We find it shocking that this same organisation shows total insensitivity to the blatant and entrenched discrimination inflicted on Palestinian sportsmen and women by Israel.’
‘We call on UEFA, even at this late stage, to reverse the choice of Israel as a venue.’
However UEFA general secretary, Gianni Infantino, stated in a news conference that,
"UEFA and the Israeli FA is responsible for football, it cannot be held responsible for the politics of a national government... And we have no plans to move the tournament, which is being held legitimately in a UEFA member association."
See our earlier editorial : Politics and cricket: stepping up to the crease on Sri Lanka (05 April 2013)
