Open Letter to interim FA Chairman Peter McCormick OBE
By BBUK In Advocacy, Announcements, Bureau of International Affairs, Statements On 17 May 2021
Mr. Peter McCormick OBE
St. George’s Park
Newborough Road
Needwood
Burton-Upon-Trent
DE13 9PD
17 May 2021
Dear Mr McCormick
I am writing on behalf of the human rights organisation B’nai B’rith UK to complain about an event that took place during the recent FA Cup final between Leicester and Chelsea.
At the end of the match, two Leicester City players walked around the pitch clearly carrying a Palestinian flag. This was an overt political statement designed, we assume, to show partisan solidarity with victims of the current Middle East conflict. We feel that such political expressions are completely inappropriate, not just because they are deeply one sided, but because a public football match is not the correct venue to display one’s political leanings. In this regard, we note the £20,000 fine that was imposed on Pep Guardiola of Manchester City in 2018 for displaying an insignia of the Catalan movement. At its best, football must remain a forum for bringing people together, not dividing them.
We are calling on you to condemn this behaviour and to remind Leicester, together with all English football clubs, that matches should not be used to express partisan political viewpoints.
Yours sincerely
Jeremy Havardi
Director, B’nai B’rith UK Bureau of International Affairs
Shield House, Harmony Way, London NW4 2BZ ¨ Tel: +44 (0) 770 272 8751
email: lbia@bnaibrithuk.org Website: www.bnaibrithuk.org