Lionel 
anyway they want to rematch
Now, Palestine want to play S'pore in World Cup qualifier
GAZA CITY The Palestine football federation yesterday urged Fifa
to re-schedule their 2010 World Cup qualifier with Singapore,
explaining their no show on the pitch was due to Israel denying
them travel permits.
The first round, second leg clash Singapore's Lions were leading
4-0 after the first leg was scheduled to kick-off at 5pm on
Sunday at Singapore's National Stadium, but the Palestinian team
failed to show.
Singapore coach Raddy Avramovic slammed his opponents as
unprofessional and Fifa awarded the match to the Republic with a
3-0 scoreline, for a 7-0 aggregate.
But yesterday, Jamal Zaqut, an official from the Palestinian
federation, told reporters here: "We are asking Fifa to reschedule
the match and help us get Israeli permits."
The Palestinian team, he claimed, were due to arrive in Singapore
on Oct 23, but were not given the necessary Israeli permits to
leave the Gaza Strip.
"Unfortunately, we didn't get the permits which prevented us from
travelling. It is not the first time this has happened," he
said.
Zaqut insisted the Palestinians had informed Fifa about the
situation on Oct 25 three days before kick-off.
"We have had no response from them," he said.
There was no immediate comment available from the Israeli
authorities responsible for granting permits to Palestinians.
Singapore had to take to the field on Sunday despite Palestine
failing to show up.
They kicked off in an empty stadium before the match was abandoned
by match referee Sun Baojie from China. AFP
Source: http://www.todayonline.com/articles/219427.asp
http://www.kallangroar.com/showthread.php?p=14890#post14890
