# Spanish world cup crowd - Confederate flag? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 19, 2006, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spanish-world-cup-crowd-confederate-flag/361352 "2006-06-19T20:55:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Szlater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@Szlater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Szlater)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2006, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spanish-world-cup-crowd-confederate-flag/361352/61 "2006-06-23T16:49:49Z")
[QUOTE=Don Logan] I think a year or two ago, it was news when a club team with an Isreali player was to play against a clube team with I think an Irani, and the Iran player said he would not go on the pitch against just one Isreali. [/QUOTE] Irani?? People from Iran are Iranians. And cite? ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2006, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spanish-world-cup-crowd-confederate-flag/361352/62 "2006-06-23T16:55:49Z")
How about [this](http://www.scottishfriendsofisrael.org/fifa_israel.htm)… > [@](#): > > Things are different for Israeli players in Britain . Yosi Benayoun and Tal Ben Haim are well liked by fans at their respective English soccer clubs. They have contributed to successful seasons by their talent. They participate in the campaign to Kick Racism out of Soccer, which has been a highlight of the English soccer season this year. When it comes to sharing the perks with their clubmates, however, they have been treated shabbily. It can be described as racism against the Jewish players. > > Both West Ham United and Bolton Wanderers have enjoyed breaks by accepting invitations for a few days R&R in sunny Dubai. All the players and management that is with the exception of the Israeli players, Yosi Benayoun, Yaniv Katan, and Tal Ben Haim. Dubai instructed the English clubs that the Jewish players would not be allowed entry into the Arab sheikhdom. So, the clubs complied with this discrimination and left their Israeli players behind. In a lame excuse, the press office of West Ham said that they had provided their Israeli players with a break in Spain. They might as well have sent them to Coventry ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2006, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spanish-world-cup-crowd-confederate-flag/361352/63 "2006-06-23T17:19:43Z")
There’s been plenty of cases of national teams refusing to play Israel. However, a case such as described by **Don Logan** of one individual making a stand against one Israeli really does cry out for a cite. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Logan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f07891/32.png) [@Don\_Logan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Logan)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2006, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spanish-world-cup-crowd-confederate-flag/361352/64 "2006-06-23T17:27:14Z")
Can’t find a cite, but \*\*Gangster Octopus’\*\*s post should be proof enough. If the entire Iran team would refuse to play against Isreal, I don’t think it is a stretch that one Iranian would refuse to play against one Isreali. And I definitely have no cite for this, but have been told Iranian passports state that travel to Isreal is illegal. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Logan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f07891/32.png) [@Don\_Logan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Logan)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2006, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spanish-world-cup-crowd-confederate-flag/361352/65 "2006-06-23T17:29:40Z")
To clarify, I believe what I am think is conjecture while watching a match, where the commentator stated that “if” the Isreali players team met the Iranian players team in the UEFA cup or some such, then the Irani would not play in the game. But I don’t think it was a major issue because the two teams did not play anyway, but I will search for a cite. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2006, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spanish-world-cup-crowd-confederate-flag/361352/66 "2006-06-23T17:30:26Z")
Even if it happened as you describe, we don’t know the repurcussions for the player involved. It’s quite possible that he received short shrift from his club. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2006, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spanish-world-cup-crowd-confederate-flag/361352/67 "2006-06-23T17:31:29Z")
(That was a response to the first of your two posts!) ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2006, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spanish-world-cup-crowd-confederate-flag/361352/68 "2006-06-23T17:32:09Z")
I don’t know about Iranian passports, but Saudi Arabia officially refuses entry for any person or item who/which has ever been within the Jewish borders of Israel. The Royal Family is excluded, of course; they can go to and from Israel as much as they want and bring as much goodies back–putting as much money into the economy of the nation they supposedly don’t recognize–as they like. Some Saudis are more equal than others, I guess. No cite to give you, but in an international shipping class I took at the business department, we looked over several nations’ customs regulations including Saudi Arabia’s. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Logan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f07891/32.png) [@Don\_Logan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Logan)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2006, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spanish-world-cup-crowd-confederate-flag/361352/69 "2006-06-23T17:32:10Z")
Found it, but it wasn’t soccer, it was in the Olympics: My mistake :smack: [http://www.opinionjournal.com/taste/?id=110005502](http://www.opinionjournal.com/taste/?id=110005502) ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2006, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spanish-world-cup-crowd-confederate-flag/361352/70 "2006-06-23T17:39:38Z")
Utterly asinine. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2006, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spanish-world-cup-crowd-confederate-flag/361352/71 "2006-06-23T18:01:53Z")
[QUOTE=Don Logan] Found it, but it wasn’t soccer, it was in the Olympics: My mistake :smack: [http://www.opinionjournal.com/taste/?id=110005502](http://www.opinionjournal.com/taste/?id=110005502) [/QUOTE] So it was actually a fairly irrelevant one-man protest…but a very good article anyway! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spanish-world-cup-crowd-confederate-flag/361352.md?page=3)