Sixty two English Premier League and 1st Division European footballers have issued an open letter in solidarity with Palestinians and condemning UEFA’s upcoming hosting of its 2013 Under 21 tournament in Israel.<\/p>\n
OPEN LETTER<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n We, as European football players, express our solidarity with the people of Gaza who are living under siege and denied basic human dignity and freedom. The latest Israeli bombardment of Gaza, resulting in the death of over a hundred civilians, was yet another stain on the world\u2019s conscience.<\/em><\/p>\n We are informed that on 10 November 2012 the Israeli army bombed a sports stadium in Gaza, resulting in the death of four young people playing football, Mohamed Harara and Ahmed Harara, 16 and 17 years old; Matar Rahman and Ahmed Al Dirdissawi, 18 years old.<\/em><\/p>\n We are also informed that since February 2012 two footballers with the club Al Amari, Omar Rowis, 23, and Mohammed Nemer, 22, have been detained in Israel without charge or trial.<\/em><\/p>\n It is unacceptable that children are killed while they play football. Israel hosting the UEFA Under-21 European Championship, in these circumstances, will be seen as a reward for actions that are contrary to sporting values.<\/em><\/p>\n Despite the recent ceasefire, Palestinians are still forced to endure a desperate existence under occupation; they must be protected by the international community. All people have the right to a life of dignity, freedom and security. We hope that a just settlement will finally emerge.<\/em><\/p>\n – Didier Drogba, Shangha\u00ef Shenhua (China);<\/em> UN Goodwill Ambassador<\/strong> Sixty two English Premier League and 1st Division European footballers have issued an open letter in solidarity with Palestinians and condemning UEFA’s upcoming hosting of its 2013 Under 21 tournament in Israel.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23779","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-in-focus"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23779","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23779"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23779\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23779"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23779"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23779"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n<\/em>– Gael Angoula, Bastia Sporting Club (France)<\/em>
\n – Karim Ait-Fana, Montpellier HSC (France)<\/em>
\n – Andr\u00e9 Ayew, Olympique de Marseille (France)<\/em>
\n – Jordan Ayew, Olympique de Marseille<\/em> (France)<\/em>
\n – Demba Ba, Newcastle United (UK)<\/em>
\n – Abdoulaye Bald\u00e9, AC Lumezzane (Italia)<\/em>
\n – Chahir Belghazouani, AC Ajaccio (France)<\/em>
\n – Leon Best, Blackburn Rovers Football Club (UK)<\/em>
\n – Ryad Boudebouz, Football Club Sochaux Montb\u00e9liard (France)<\/em>
\n – Yacine Brahimi, Granada Football Club (Spain)<\/em>
\n – Jonathan Bru, Melbourne Victory (Australia)<\/em>
\n – Yohan Cabaye, Newcastle United (UK)<\/em>
\n – Aatif Chahechouche, Sivasspor Kul\u00fcb\u00fc (Turkey)<\/em>
\n – Pascal Chimbonda, Doncaster Rovers Football Club (UK)<\/em>
\n – Papiss Ciss\u00e9, Newcastle United (UK)<\/em>
\n – Omar Daf, Football Club Sochaux Montb\u00e9liard (France)<\/em>
\n – Issiar Dia, Lekhwiya (Qatar)<\/em>
\n – Abou Diaby, Arsenal Football Club (UK)<\/em>
\n – Alou Diarra, Olympique de Marseille (France)<\/em>
\n – Soulaymane Diawara, Olympique de Marseille (France)<\/em>
\n – Samba Diakit\u00e9, Queens Park Rangers (UK)<\/em>
\n – Pape Diop, West Ham United (UK)<\/em>
\n – Abdoulaye Doucour\u00e9, Stade Rennais Football Club (France)<\/em>
\n <\/em>– Ibrahim Duplus, Football Club Sochaux Montb\u00e9liard (France)
\n– Soudani El-Arabi Hilal, Vitoria Sport Club Guimares (Portugal)
\n– Jires Kembo Ekoko, Al Ain Football Club (United Arab Emirates)
\n– Nathan Ellington, Ipswich Town Football Club (UK)
\n– Rod Fanni, Olympique de Marseille (France)
\n– Doudou Jacques Faty, Sivassport Kul\u00fcb\u00fc (Turkey)
\n– Ricardo Faty, AC Ajaccio (France)
\n– Chris Gadi, Olympique de Marseille (France)
\n– Remi Gomis, FC Valenciennes (France)
\n– Florent Hanin, SC Braga (Portugal)
\n– Eden Hazard, Chelsea Football Club (UK)
\n– Charles Kabor\u00e9, Olympique de Marseille (France)
\n– Diomansy Kamara, Eskisehispor Kul\u00fcb\u00fc (Turkey)
\n– Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric Kanout\u00e9, Beijin Guoan (China)
\n– Anthony Le Tallec, AJ Auxerre (France)
\n– Djamal Mahamat, Sporting Braga (Portugal)
\n– Steve Mandanda, Olympique de Marseille (France)
\n– Kader Manganne, Al Hilal Riyad Football Club (Saudi Arabia)
\n– Sylvain Marveaux, Newcastle United (UK)
\n– Nicolas Maurice-Belay, FC Girondins de Bordeaux (France)
\n– Cheikh M\u2019bengu\u00e9, Toulouse Football Club (France)
\n– J\u00e9r\u00e9my Menez, Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (France)
\n– Arnold Mvuemba, Olympique Lyonnais (France)
\n– Laurent Nardol, Chartres Football Club (France)
\n– Mahamadou N\u2019diaye, Vitoria Sport Club Guimares (Portugal)
\n– Mamadou Niang, Al-Sadd SC (Qatar)
\n– Mbaye Niang, SM Caen (France)
\n– Fabrice Numeric, FK Slovan Duslo Sala (Slovakia)
\n– Billel Omrani, Olympique de Marseille (France)
\n– Lamine San\u00e9, FC Girondins de Bordeaux (France)
\n– Mamady Sidib\u00e9, Stoke City Football Club (UK)
\n– Momo Sissoko, Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (France)
\n– Cheikh Tiot\u00e9, Newcastle United (UK)
\n– AdamaTraor\u00e9, Melbourne Victory (Australia)
\n– Armand Traor\u00e9, Queen Park Rangers FC (UK)
\n– Djimi Traore, Olympique de Marseille (France)
\n– Moussa Sow, Fenerbah\u00e7e Spor Kul\u00fcb\u00fc (Turkey)
\n– Hassan Yebda, Granada Football Club (Spain)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"