Jewish human rights group the Simon Wiesenthal Center on Monday "sharply criticized popular" Goal.com for "'denying the legitimacy of Israel and inciting to Jew-hatred' in its Arabic language versions," according to THE ALGEMEINER. In a sharp letter to UEFA, the Center’s Dir for Int'l Relations Shimon Samuels "drew attention to articles on the site that refer to Israel as the 'Zionist entity' or an 'enemy,' and accuse the Jewish state of 'occupation.'" One report about Israel's defeat in a match said, "This is the first Zionist loss in the playoffs," while another article "mentioned Wales 'defeating the Zionist entity team of the City of Haifa in the occupied territories.'" In the letter addressed to UEFA President Michel Platini, Samuels said, "'Zionist entity' is deemed as denying the legitimacy of the State of Israel and the very right to sovereignty of the Jewish people." Samuels said that multiple appeals to Goal.com's London HQ "have not been answered." He explained that a similar complaint to the sports network Eurosport "resulted in immediate action by the pan-European company" (THE ALGEMEINER, 5/4).
