Nov 13, 2015 Palestinian fans in Ramallah recently had to watch the Palestinian national team play against Saudi Arabia on a big outdoor screen.
The Palestinian team was due to host Saudi Arabia for their Group A match in October at the Palestinian national Faisal Husseini stadium in Al-Ram, but this required entry through an Israeli border post.
Since Saudi Arabia does not recognize Israel, the Saudi authorities called for the match to be played at a neutral venue.
In Ramallah, after the match ended in a goalless draw, fans said the decision to move the match affected the players’ performance.
Mahmoud Sweih, said:
“The match somehow was more symbolic than technical, moving the location of the match has affected the players a lot as well as the crowd. Thousands of Palestinians travelled to Jordan to watch the match, in addition to thousands in Ramallah and the other cities (in the Palestinian Territories) who watched the game despite the cold weather in Palestine and Amman. Our Palestinian players were under tension but thanks to God one point is better than nothing in the match against Saudi (Arabia),”