Tottenham Hotspur face ire of rights groups over Israel friendly

Robert Carter

Press TV, London

British Premier League football team Tottenham Hotspur have come under fire ahead of a pre-season friendly match against Israel.

Supporters and human rights activists have voiced concern that the club is sport-swashing an apartheid regime killing the Palestinian people.

The fixture, pitting Tottenham against the Italian side AS Roma scheduled in Haifa on July 30th, has been condemned by human rights activists as an attempt to normalize crimes perpetrated against Palestinians by the Israeli regime.

The London-based Islamic Human Rights Commission launched a letter campaign, encouraging supporters to write to Tottenham and demand the club cancel the controversial fixture.

Pro-Palestine supporters have taken to social media to lash out at the football club.

Israel has been recognized widely as an apartheid regime. Their crimes have been well documented for years. Just days before Tottenham announced the fixture, international outrage was sparked over the slaying of Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in the occupied West Bank.

The club has so far not commented on the growing outcry, but it did issue a statement in May saying it was "delighted" to announce the team's Israel tour, suggesting human rights isn't a key concern for the major British football club.

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