The day Netanyahu put on the Barça shirt and other tentacles of Israel

BarcelonaThe question is whether the pro-Palestinian protests in the world of sport will remain. in an isolated case with the Vuelta a España Or they are the beginning of a demand that will affect more events with Israeli participation. There will be no shortage of opportunities close to home. Almost a year away is the start of the Tour de France in Barcelona. If the International Cycling Union (UCI) doesn't change its position, Israel-Premier Tech, the team that sparked protests at the Vuelta a España during Israel's genocide in Gaza, will have to be there. Its owner is Sylvan Adams, a Zionist businessman close to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In the shorter term, there will also be other Israeli teams visiting Barcelona. In the Euroleague, there are two this season: Maccabi Tel-Aviv and Hapoel Tel-Aviv. In fact, Barça will begin its European adventure this season against Hapoel. But it will do so away from home, specifically in Belgrade, for security reasons. The first Israeli visit to the Palau Blaugrana will be on January 6 or 7, when the Catalan team will face Maccabi. That week could be especially delicate in case of protests because just two days after visiting Barcelona, ​​Maccabi will play against Real Madrid in the Spanish capital. Hapoel, meanwhile, will visit the Palau on March 12 or 13. The Spanish team that will most likely play at home against an Israeli team is Valencia Basket, which will host Hapoel on October 14 or 15.

32% of Atlético Madrid fans are Israeli.

Football currently allows Israeli teams to participate in European competitions, unlike Russian teams due to the invasion of Ukraine. The national team is participating in the World Cup qualifying phase, and Maccabi Tel-Aviv is competing in the Europa League, and Maccabi Haifa in the Conference League. But the Israeli presence is not limited to Israeli teams. Since 2017, Atlético de Madrid has been partly owned by Israelis. At that time, Zionist businessman Idan Ofer became a shareholder in the Madrid club through the company Quantum Pacific, acquiring 15% of the shares from Enrique Cerezo and Miguel Ángel Gil Marín. He later increased his ownership to 32% by purchasing more shares in the Wanda group.

Ofer's shadow over the world of sport is long. The focus of the pro-Palestinian protests at this year's Vuelta has been the Israel-Premier Tech team because of its obvious ties to the country and Netanyahu. But it hasn't been the only team in the peloton with a strong Israeli ownership presence. Last April, Ofer acquired a 45% stake in Abarca Sports, the company that runs the Movistar Team. Furthermore, UK-based Quantum Pacific also holds a stake in Famalicao, a Portuguese football club, and has investments in the Aston Martin team, where Asturian Fernando Alonso drives in Formula 1.

Barça's relationship with Israel

Barça, despite not currently having any official ties with Israel, has had them in recent years. Joan Laporta's first official trip abroad in his second term at Barça was to Israel to attend a Barça Legends match against Real Madrid Leyendas in Tel Aviv and meet with officials such as Israeli President Isaac Herzog. It was during the second half of July 2021. He had only been there for two months. Israel had bombed the Gaza Strip for 11 days, leaving 232 Palestinian deaths., and that Hamas rockets had killed 12 Israelis. That same summer, Barça's first team was scheduled to play a pre-season friendly against Villarreal in Tel Aviv, which ultimately fell through due to pressure from the Palestinian authorities and a business conflict between developers.

One of the promoters was businessman Moshe Hogeg, who was negotiating with Barça for a second friendly in Israel that summer against Beitar Jerusalem. Hogeg was the president of that football club, which is favored by the Israeli right and known for the anti-Muslim ideology of its radical fans. Thus, it is not surprising that Netanyahu is one of Beitar's most famous supporters. Netanyahu himself wore a Barça shirt when the club, under the presidency of Sandro Rosell, visited Israel in 2013 as part of the so-called Peace Tour, which included appearances by both Mahmoud Abbas, President of Palestine, and Ximen Peres, Prime Minister of Israel.

Beitar's stadium is the Teddy Kollek and is located in Malha, a troubled neighborhood because when the State of Israel was created in 1948, there was a Palestinian settlement there. Several political figures privately pressured Barça in the summer of 2021 to not play the match, and the Palestinian Football Association (PFA) published a letter requesting the same. All of this led the club to abandon the visit to Israel. Hogeg was an old friend of Laporta. In fact, the lawyer, before returning to the Barça presidency, was a director of Sirin Labs, a Hogeg company. Already in his second term, Laporta and Hogeg signed a commercial agreement between Barça and Ownix in November 2021., a cryptocurrency company owned by the Israeli businessman, to launch a collection of Barça NFTs. Barça unilaterally terminated the contract weeks later, when it became known that Hogeg had been arrested on suspicion of multimillion-dollar cryptocurrency fraud and sexual offenses.