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February 13, 2013 10:47 am
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Jewish Israeli Soccer Star Banned from Training With Club in Dubai

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avatar by Zach Pontz

Swansea City striker Itay Schechter with his old club FC Kaiserslautern. Photo: therealfutbol.com.

Jewish Israeli soccer star and Swansea City (UK) striker Itay Shechter has been forced to miss his club’s week-long training decampment because it’s taking place in Dubai. The UAE and Israel do not have diplomatic relations and Shechter could have been arrested and deported if he tried to enter Dubai as the United Arab Emirates does not recognize Israel as a state.

Schechter was once a victim of anti-Semitic abuse when he was given a Nazi salute during a training session. He has joined his former team in Israel, Hapoel Tel Aviv football club, to train ahead of a Premier League match this Sunday.
When reached for comment a spokesperson for the club told The Algemeiner team officials were disappointed but that their hands were tied. “We didn’t have a lot of time to change plans because the arrangements were made at the last minute,” the spokesperson said, adding that the club was made aware ahead of time that Shechter would have an issue.

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