Plea for footballer

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jun/14/plea-for-footballer

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At a time when there is so much focus on international football, perhaps the media could give some attention to the plight of footballers in Palestine, where restrictions on movement prevent them from training and playing the beautiful game. At this moment, a young Palestinian footballer, Mahmoud Sarsak, is in a critical condition after three months on hunger strike, following his detention under "administrative" procedures without charge and without trial. Sarsak has been in Israeli custody since July 2009, when he was detained at a checkpoint as he travelled from his home in Gaza to join the Palestinian national squad for a match at Balata in the northern West Bank. In their first home international last year, an Olympic qualifying match against Thailand, the Palestinian team was without eight key players, who were refused permission to travel from Gaza to Ramallah. Earlier this year, the UN determined that Israel's policies in the occupied Palestinian territories violate the UN's convention prohibiting apartheid. Uefa should reconsider its decision to hold its under-21 championship in Israel in 2013. <br /><strong>John Austin</strong><br /><em>Former MP, Erith and Thamesmead</em>