Business of Sport

Ewan MacKenna: Suppressing Palestine's ability to play sport is a long-term weapon in Israel's armoury

Ewan MacKenna.

The chant around the Teddy Stadium goes: ''Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six. Five. Four. Three. Two. One. War! War! War! But they're words turned into actions by some of the fans of Beitar Jerusalem. In 2005, Nigerian player Ibrahim Nadalla left the team because of abuse from his own supporters based around his religion. Former coach Eli Cohen said: ''There's a difference between a Muslim from Europe and a Muslim from Israel.

When ...