Latest editorial
Club Deportivo Palestino in 1952
ABOUT a year ago, I was up late watching some Chilean football online (even before coronavirus I didn’t get out much) — a game hosted in Rancagua by a side called O’Higgins versus a team called Club Deportivo Palestino. No wonder Latin America is the home of magical realism.
Some say Celtic don’t play in Ireland, but they play for Ireland. Similarly, Palestino don’t play in Palestine, but they do play for Palestine. When they won the Copa Chile in 2018, Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas sent a personal letter congratulating the team on their victory and inviting the players and coaching staff to the country.
As Abbas pointed out, Palestino are more than just a football team. They represent both the nation of Palestine and the “just cause for freedom, justice and peace.”
JAMES NALTON writes on the bizarre Aston Villa v Maccabi Tel Aviv scandal
The ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans was based on evidence of a pattern of violence and hatred targeting Arabs and Muslims, two communities that have a large population in Birmingham — overturning the ban was tacit acceptance of the genocidal ideology the fans espouse, argues CLAUDIA WEBBE
As football grapples with overloaded calendars and commercial pressure, the Mariners’ triumph reminds us why the game’s soul lives far from the spotlight, writes JAMES NALTON
With climate change, commercial overload and endless fixtures, footballers are being pushed to breaking point. It’s time their unions became a more powerful, unified force, writes JAMES NALTON