DUNDEE football club is facing backlash from its fans after it announced its men’s team will play against Maccabi Haifa FC this weekend.
A pro-Palestine group has called on Dundee fans to contact the club and “demand this game is called off” due to the ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza.
Dundee announced on Wednesday that its men’s team would play a Hungarian side, Paksi FC, on Thursday and the Israeli side Maccabi Haifa FC on Saturday at the Globall Hotel, in Telki, as part of its pre-season friendlies.
However, following Dundee’s announcement, supporters have criticised the club's decision, with one fan asking: “[Is] this some sort of sick joke?”
Another commented: “Do not play the second game! Listen to your fans on this one!!!! Terrible decision by the club.”
A third said: “Why are you involved with a genocide-supporting team? Embarrassed to support you!”
Meanwhile, a host of others pointed out that the city of Dundee has been twinned with Nablus, Palestine, since 1980.
Show Israeli Genocide the Red Card, an international grassroots campaign led by football fans, activists, and human rights advocates, said it was “no wonder” fans have called out their club’s decision to play Maccabi Haifa.
“Approaching three years of the current genocide, and with almost daily breaches of the ceasefire by Israel, fans are appalled that their club would normalise this by platforming an Israeli team,” a spokesperson for the group told The National.
“By playing them, Dundee FC is sending the message that Palestinian suffering does not matter and that they are willing to be complicit in the sports-washing of war crimes.
"It is no wonder that fans have shown outrage at their club's decision.”
It comes after Israeli forces killed Palestinian footballer and soon-to-be father, Saleem Al-Ashqar, in Gaza this week.
The 32-year-old, who played as a goalkeeper for Khan Younis-based club Khadamat Khan, was killed by live fire while stopping at a shop on the way home from work, the Palestinian Football Association (PFA) said.
He had been married for around five months prior to his death, and his wife is expecting their first-born child.
Show Israeli Genocide the Red Card spokesperson said: “Only two days ago, Palestinian goalkeeper Saleem Al-Ashqar was shot dead by Israeli forces in Gaza, leaving behind his wife who is expecting their first child. This family is just one of many who are facing similar devastation.
“How can any club ignore the suffering of a footballer's family and play a team from the genocidal state as if it's business as usual?
“We call on Dundee fans with a conscience to contact their club to demand this game is called off and to protest this match of shame.”
More than 1000 Palestinian sportspeople have been killed in Israel's genocidal war since October 2023, around half of whom were footballers.
The game's infrastructure has also been decimated in Gaza, with around 290 stadiums and sports complexes having been destroyed or damaged by Israeli strikes.
Dundee FC have been approached for comment.
