The brouhaha this raised in the Iranian media, which is, of course, loyal to the Khamenei regime, was a spectacle.
Islamic antisemitism is brazen and institutionalized in Iran, as well as in other Sharia-adherent countries. If this hatred were expressed against any other group, a global outcry would ensue, with demands for an apology and a change of behavior. Antisemitism is the only kind of bigotry that is openly expressed in and even tolerated in the realms of international sports. Meanwhile, Islamic lobbies routinely scream “Islamophobia” even when no bigotry at all is present; mere offense to Islamic sensibilities is enough.
“Iranian soccer player sparks outrage playing in match with Israeli coach,” by Tzvi Joffre, Jerusalem Post, December 26, 2021:
Iranian soccer player Mehdi Mahdavikia sparked controversy in Iranian media after he played in a showcase match with an Israeli coach at the FIFA Arab Cup.
The showcase match at the FIFA Arab Cup starred former soccer players from Arab countries and around the world. The team of world legends was coached by Israeli Avram Grant. Three Algerian soccer players withdrew from the match and a number of Arab players erased the Israeli flags from their shirts in protest against Grant’s involvement.
Iran has a general policy of not allowing athletes to compete against Israeli competitors. The policy has sparked pressure by Israel and its supporters to ban Iran from competing in a variety of sports unless it allows its athletes to play against Israeli athletes.
The Kayhan newspaper, associated with Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, attacked the soccer player for playing in a match “unrelated to Iran, dressed in the flag of the Zionist regime and against a team coached by a Zionist.” The newspaper expressed outrage that Mahdavikia had not issued a statement to “openly express his hatred” of Israel and demanded that he do so.
The Fars News Agency also expressed outrage that Mahdavikia had not apologize for taking part in the match. The news agency added that the soccer player tried to make the issue seem “trivial.” The article questioned why the Sports Ministry had remained silent on the issue.
Amid the controversy, Alireza Jahanbakhsh, an Iranian soccer player who plays on the country’s national team, expressed support for Mahdavikia by posting a photo of the two together in his Instagram story, according to ILNA.
Former Iranian Football Federation’s moral charter secretary Hojatoleslam Alireza Alipour also expressed support for the soccer player, saying that Mahdavikia did not know in advance that an Israeli coach would be involved. Alipour expressed outrage that some members of the Iranian parliament had attacked the soccer player without actually looking into the issue.
Alipour stated that he personally followed up on the issue and found that claims that Iraqi soccer player Younis Mahmoud had said that Mahdavikia did not erase the flag were false and that Mahmoud had confirmed that the Iranian soccer player had also erased the Israeli flag from his uniform….
gravenimage says
Iran: Soccer player sparks outrage for playing in match with Israeli coach, told to ‘openly express his hatred’
……………….
Whio can be surprised by this demand for Muslim hatred of Jews? And many other Muslims on the team–non-Iranians–happily expressed their antisemitism. *Ugh*.
Rafael says
Muslim nations not to be trusted. They all targeted and are still targeting Jewish people. No Muslim nation today is safe for Jews. Even Turkey, which was the first Muslim country to recognize Israel, targeted the Jews during the World War II, with forced labor and confiscatory taxes.
Today, they want to hide all of this. Erdogan promotes hatred in his speeches and with his policies against the minorities of his nation, which he is supposed to protect as president.
gravenimage says
Grimly true, Rafael. There are few Jews surviving today in Turkey.
mortimer says
Robert Spencer wrote: “Islamic antisemitism is brazen and institutionalized in Iran, as well as in other Sharia-adherent countries.”
This hatred directed from Muslims towards non-Muslims (especially towards Jews) is actually NOT AN ABERRATION in Islam, but a CANONICALLY REQUIRED practice in SHARIA LAW formally called ‘AL WALAA WAL BARAA’.
All Muslims must hate the kafir (especially Jews) ‘for the sake of Allah’ or they will go to Islamic hell.
gravenimage says
All true. This is orthodox Islam.
Doomer says
What a COINCIDENCE, talking about Soccer Players:
Here is a link to an article in today’s American Thinker that says:
https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2021/12/brave-new-world-athletes-heart-problems-joseph-hippolito/
” This year, MORE than 300 ATHLETES around the world — some as young as 12 —
COLLAPSED unexpectedly, mostly due to HEART problems.
Nearly 200 of them DIED.”
(MY NOTE: It was due to getting 2 doses of the Covid VACCINE )
IT ALSO SAYS:
” In November, Israeli medical journalist Yaffa Shir-Raz reported that since December 2020,
the number of SOCCER PLAYERS WORLDWIDE
who SUDDENLY DIED increased 500 PERCENT, to 183.
Most died from HEART PROBLEMS or BLOOD CLOTS.”