Alwaght- An Emirati sheikh has purchased half of an Israeli football team Beitar Jerusalem, risking political uproar as the club is a bastion of Tel Aviv Regime's political right-wing and a group of supporters known as “La Familia” has been openly abusive towards Arab minority.
Beitar have never had an Arab player and its hardcore fans are infamous for making "Death to Arabs" chants at the Teddy Stadium and warning the club's owners not to sign Arab or Muslim players.
Two members of the group were charged with arson after the club's offices were set on fire two days after it bought two Chechen Muslim footballers in 2013, and their owner - Israeli technology entrepreneur Moshe Hogeg - told fans that he would sue them for a million dollars if he heard "one racist comment" as part of an anti-racism campaign after he bought the club in 2018.
Now Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Nahyan has pledged to invest $92 million in the top-flight outfit over the next ten years, posing with Hogeg in Beitar's colors and declaring himself "thrilled" by his involvement in "such a glorious club".
The purchase comes amid a flurry of business deals between Israeli Regime and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) following their move to establish formal diplomatic relations in September.
In an announcement posted on their website, Beitar said Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa al-Nahyan’s purchase also included a commitment to invest more than 300 million shekels ($92.18m) in the club over the next 10 years.
Beitar’s announcement on Monday quoted Sheikh Hamad as saying: “I am thrilled to be a partner in such a glorious club that I have heard so much of and in such a great city, the capital of Israel and one of the holiest cities in the world.”
The reference to Jerusalem as occupying Israeli regime’s capital is significant given the city’s status as one of the core issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Israel regards all of Jerusalem as its capital, a position that is shared by the United States but not recognised by most countries. Palestinians seek the city’s east, which Israel captured in a 1967 war, as the capital of a future state.
Following its deal to establish ties with Israel, the UAE said it was committed to the establishment of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.
