Europe Netball has cancelled its upcoming competition that was set to take place in Cardiff in early May. This comes just days after a coalition of groups and individuals called on the national governing body and ministers in the Welsh government to demand Europe Netball bar Israel from the tournament.
The announcement cited “safeguarding” of “players, coaches, officials, volunteers, and fans” as the reason for the move. In short, it has chosen to cancel the whole competition instead of banning a genocidal apartheid state from participating in the event.
So, rather than taking a principled stand against Israel’s ongoing genocide in Palestine, the European netball body seems to have closed ranks to shield the Israeli team from public scrutiny.
Europe Netball Open: Israel out of international sporting events
The Europe Netball Open tournament was due to be held between 7-11 May at Cardiff City FC venue House of Sports.
However, it came to the attention of local anti-genocide campaigners that the Israeli netball team would be participating. That is, amid Israel’s ongoing genocide in which it has now murdered more than 52,200 Palestinians – including hundreds of Palestinian athletes – Europe Netball was permitting it to play in its international competition.
A coalition of groups therefore responded to this blatant act of sportswashing by Israel. Crucially, members highlighted how the Israeli team included players from illegal settlements. In other words, players come from land Israel has illegally annexed – displacing Palestinians to do so. Moreover, the coalition underscored that some team members will likely even have served in the Israeli forces due to its mandatory military service requirements. This means that they may have been carrying out acts of apartheid and genocide across Gaza and the West Bank.
It wrote to Wales Netball asking that it join with the coalition in making a public statement calling for the Europe Netball competition to bar Israel from the event. Additionally, it demanded that the governing body call on Europe Netball to ban Israel from any potential future competitions.
Additionally, it sent a copy to Welsh government sports minister Jack Sargeant MS. It also addressed one to the chair of the Sports Committee, Delyth Jewell MS. Alongside these, it penned a letter to Sport Wales, and to the venue that was set to host the tournament.
Now, Europe Netball appears to have responded to these demands. However, it did so not by removing Israel from the competition – but by cancelling the entire event altogether.
‘Safeguarding’ concerns: capitulation to Israel by any other name
On Tuesday 29 April, Europe Netball plastered a cancellation announcement across its website and socials. It read that:
At Europe Netball, the safety and wellbeing of everyone involved in our events players, coaches, officials, volunteers and fans – is always our top priority.
It is with regret that we announce the cancellation of our Open Tournament at Cardiff next week.
This decision has not been made lightly but reflects our unwavering commitment to safeguarding our netball family and ensuring a positive experience for all.All those who have purchased tickets will be contacted individually regarding refunds.
We remain dedicated to creating opportunities for the growth and the enjoyment of netball across our region and we thank you for your understanding and continued support.#EuropeNetball #NetballCommunity
By its “unwavering commitment to safeguarding”, this evidently means protecting Israel’s reputation. In effect, it’s implying that campaigners peacefully calling out genocide pose a threat to Israeli team’s “wellbeing”.
Reading between the lines, when it says “ensuring a positive experience for all” – it means shielding the Israeli team from public scrutiny over their complicity in their state’s ongoing genocide and war crimes.
Give Europe Netball the red card for failing to stand up for Palestine
Co-chair of Cardiff Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) Bethan Sayed responded to the announcement in a video:
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She started by calling out Europe Netball’s shameful and feeble decision:
Now, give the red cards to Europe Netball. They’re clearly offside. They are taking no responsibility for their legal obligations in holding Israel to account in relation to global international laws. This would have been an opportunity, would it not, for Europe Netball to make that stand, to join in calling for the boycott of Israel from this particular tournament. Now, calling it safeguarding is a cop-out.They needed to take a stand against Israel Netball and make it known that they would not be welcome as part of this tournament.
She then highlighted the rank double-standards at work:
Can you imagine, for a minute, if it had been Russia taking part in this tournament in Cardiff? It would have been opposite. There would have been outcries from the political class to not allow Russia to take part.
Sayed continued:
But here we have it, that they’re using this safeguarding reason as an excuse to cancel this. We know that Israel were fundraising for security because we were going to protest, peacefully protest. Allegedly, we live in a nation where that’s possible. And, of course, we would have been outside campaigning had the tournament taken place.
So, my gut reaction is, Europe Netball, you missed an opportunity to make a stand, to play your part in history, to condemn genocide, to not allow this team to take place, and are therefore now part of an issue of penalising all the other teams that wanted to take place, wanted to come to Cardiff to play in this tournament. We said plainly that Israel Netball were not welcome due to the fact that they train and work on settlement land, due to the fact that their nation is carrying out genocide at the moment against the Palestinian people.
It would have been a simple matter to remove one team from the tournament. But ultimately, the sporting body has chosen to save face to avoid Zionist backlash. What’s abundantly clear is that Europe Netball’s “unwavering commitment to safeguarding” does not count the Palestinian players that Israel has brutally massacred among its “netball family”. But the literal perpetrators of genocide and abhorrent war crimes? They get a free pass.
Featured image via the Canary
