The rampant anti-Israel discrimination that led to Malaysia losing the right to host ISAF/World Sailing events last winter was no outlier. The Asian island nation just gave up their hosting rights for the 2017 FIFA (soccer) Congress rather than issuing visas to Israeli delegates, using the same bullshit argument that despots and oppressors have used forever: “Security”. It’s not every day an ostensibly modern country blacklists itself from all international sporting events, but after the latest anti-sporting move, that’s about where they’re at. More from the Elder of Ziyon blog:
“We were advised by the government to withdraw from hosting the congress due to security issues,” Affandi Hamzah, deputy president of the Football Association of Malaysia, told AFP.
Affandi declined to elaborate on the “security issues” but said the move was tied to comments by Deputy Prime Minister Zahid Hamidi over the weekend. Zahid had said Malaysia was unable to provide visas to Israeli officials because it did not have diplomatic ties and could rile up local sensitivities. “Some of the conditions of hosting the event include placing the (Israeli) flag on the table during the congress,” he was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times online.
“After comparing the benefits and the risks, it is better for Malaysia to avoid playing host.”
Host of any international sporting event, right?
