Lieberman calls for dismissing Arab footballers from Israeli League

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman slammed on Friday an Arab football team for paying tribute for former Arab member of Israeli Knesset Azmi Bisharah and Qatar, Quds Press reported.

Lieberman called for the dismissal of the team Nazareth Fraternity (Ikhaa Al-Naserah) from the Israeli Premier League as a counter measure for paying tribute to Bisharah and Qatari Emir for their financial support that helped the team.

He said that this team does not deserve to represent Israel in any sport incident or even in the state cup matches.

“A team that tributes Bisharah does not deserve to compete for the state’s cup,” Lieberman said. “Bisharah has betrayed Israel and Qatar supports anti-Israel terrorism.”

He added: “This tribute is an additional provocation and this team is supposed to compete for the provocative or conspirators cup, not for cup of the state of Israel.”

In 2007, Azmi Bishara a former member of the Knesset and founder of the Balad Party, was questioned by police on suspicion of aiding and passing information to the enemy during wartime, contacts with a foreign agent, and receiving large sums of money transferred from abroad. He soon fled Israel and resigned from the Knesset, stating he could not receive a fair trial there. In February 2011, the Israeli parliament passed the so-called ‘Bishara bill’, which stripped Bishara of his parliamentary benefits, including the pension he had received as a former Knesset member. Bishara currently resides in Qatar.

In October 2014, Lieberman also slammed another Arab team Bnei Sakhnin and called for expelling it from the Israeli Premier League for the same reason.

Bnei Sakhnin paid tribute to Bisharah for his financial support that helped the team, which is like other Arab teams in Israel suffer poor support from the state.

Lieberman said: “When a football team in the Israeli League thanks someone who is suspected of spying and aiding Hezbollah, who fled from the country and incites against the State of Israel, there must be serious consequences.”

He added: “I recommend that the team’s management move to the Palestinian or the Qatari league.”

Limor Livnat, the Israeli Culture and Sport Minister, went a step further, saying: “There is no doubt that there has been a long series of crimes [by Sakhnin] but this was the worst, there needs to be a serious punishment.”

“Honouring Bishara is not just another provocation, Bnei Sakhnin crossed a true redline and acted in a way that does not belong on the football field or anywhere else.”