Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1008890
8 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 29 JULY 2018 MATTHEW VELLA THE illegal Israeli occupation of Palestine and the Gaza block- ade is a constant in the lives of Palestinian footballers. In Gaza, life is desperate – for the past 11 years, the tiny Medi- terranean strip of land between Israel and Egypt has been block- aded and under siege. It means that people cannot go in or out as they want, and their move- ment is complete restricted. For the two million Gazans liv- ing on a piece of land almost the size of Malta, it makes the Strip the largest "open-air prison" in the world. People like the young football- er Mohammed Saleh, 25, are representative of the crisis hap- pening under the world's eyes. Like so many of his generation, his footballing career is unlike anybody else's in the world. Saleh grew up in the shadow of war and destruction, and al- though he enjoys the honour of having moved into European football, life as footballer for the national squad is unlike any of his European counterparts. "It is very hard to play in Gaza, which is under a blockade," Saleh, speaking in Arabic, says. "I play with the national team but I couldn't join my team- mates because I was locked in- side Gaza and couldn't leave to play. "Obviously the Israeli oc- cupation is a big problem for me, especially when I go to the West Bank, where we cannot cross over to join the rest of the team," Saleh says of the two disjointed patches of Palestin- ian land which veritably remain under indirect control of the Is- raeli army. "We didn't even manage to get residence rights to play in the West Bank, and when I was there I also had a problem obtaining an exit visa, which means it was problematic for me to leave the country and play for the national team elsewhere and even to return home," Saleh says, who before coming to Floriana made his passage through Jordan. Notably, the Palestinian Foot- ball Federation encounters problems from Israel, which re- fuses visas to footballers leaving the West Bank and Gaza, with the majority of players drawn from the Palestinian diaspora around the world. The tribulations of obtain- ing exit visas was played out in the BBC documentary Front- line Football – an example was a 2007 qualifier for the 2010 World Cup, in which the Pal- estinians were unable to obtain exit visas to play Singapore. Despite protestations from the PFF, FIFA and the Asian Foot- ball Confederation refused to reschedule the match and awarded a 3-0 victory to Singa- pore in a walkover match. And the tragedy of the Israeli occupation lives on everyday in footballers' lives in Palestine. Staying at home can be dan- gerous. The midfielder Tariq al Quto was killed by the Israeli Defence Forces, while three Palestinian footballers, Ayman Alkurd, Shadi Sbakhe and Wa- jeh Moshtahe, were among the Palestinian casualties during the bombing of Operation Cast Lead. Mahmoud Sarsak spent three months on hunger strike while imprisoned in Israel with- out trial or charges after Israel accused him in 2009 of being active in Islamic Jihad, an ac- cusation which he denied. Sar- sak was released from prison on 10 July 2012, after being held for three years without formal charges. Palestinian facilities, such as Palestine Stadium, have been damaged in military con- flicts. In such a place, football re- mains an essential part of life. "Palestinians love football and sports and they follow football in Europe. Amid the destruc- tion and wars, something like football is very important for Palestinians," Saleh comments. And this brings home the power of football in the world of committed and political football fans. In 2016, UEFA fined Glasgow Celtic over €120,000 after some 100 fans displayed Palestinian flags during a 5-2 home victory against Hapoel Be'er Sheva in a Champions League qualifier – UEFA forbids messages "not fit for a sports event", particularly political gestures. The Israeli players were treated respect- fully throughout, as was Celt- ic's own midfielder and Israeli international player Nir Bitton, who was given a standing ova- tion when he left the field. But it is an episode redolent of the way football fans view their own teams' histories: like the display of Catalan nationalism on the field, when revealing the flag under the fascist regime of General Franco in Spain carried the risk of death. And NEWS Ready for glory: Mohammed Saleh PHOTOGRAPHY JAMES BIANCHI Floriana is possibly the first European team to recruit a Gazan- born footballer. 25-year-old centre-back Mohammed Saleh hopes more Palestinians can get into Europe, but the illegal Israeli occupation is a reality unknown to most footballers and fans around the world Out of Gaza, Mo Saleh hopes for European glory Scottish heart, Celtic solidarity: UEFA fined Glasgow Celtic for waving Palestinian flags during a match against an Israeli team "The Israeli occupation is a big problem for me, especially when I go to the West Bank, where we cannot cross over to join the rest of the team"