Islamic Apartheid: No Football for Christians in Egypt @WorldCup

They call it the “beautiful game”; it may not be our cup of tea, but Association Football has much of the world gripped at present, with the World Cup taking place in Russia.

Egypt has its national team competing, but it appears access to the game is not as open there as it should be.

Remember how South Africa used to be shunned at sports events because of Apartheid?

Why don’t other supremacist regimes meet with similar exclusions?

Oh, of course, everyone is expected to make the customary exceptions for Islam.

It’s not just Christians. The Jewish state is consistently kept out of World Cup, since neighboring Muslim countries refuse to play Israel in qualifying games.

World Cup fever grips Egypt but Christians BANNED from playing football by ‘extremists’

WORLD Cup fever has spread across the globe, and Egypt is no exception having qualified for the first time since 1990.

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By Joey Millar, The Express, Jun 23, 2018:

With Liverpool FC’s star man Mo Salah helping to boost interest in the game and Egypt making the group stages, the beautiful game has the country gripped.

But while Egyptians have cheered on their team with gusto during the opening two fixtures, which they lost to Uruguay and hosts Russia, not everyone in the country can get behind ‘the Pharaohs’ in the same way.

Coptic Christians are all-but banned from taking part in organised sport in Egypt, anti-persecution charity Open Doors revealed this week, due to “extremist” coaches at every level – especially in football.

One Copt told Open Doors football coaches at clubs of all sizes were extremist and anti-Christian when it came to hiring players.

He said: “We face discrimination on all levels. Football is a popular game and it is widely believed that Copts should not get the fame and wealth that comes with being a successful player.

“We are always confronted with coaches who are extremists. This is not just limited to small clubs, big clubs do the same, too.”

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Another said the only avenue free of discrimination was leagues organised by the Christian church in Egypt, which were not of a high enough profile to attract the attention of foreign, lucrative leagues.

He said: “I completely lost hope of playing in any of the mainstream sports clubs in Egypt. If I want to play, there is no option but the church’s sporting activities, which rarely attracts media attention.”

The situation in the country’s football system was particularly bad compared to other sports, with the Coptic Christian community only producing one famous footballer, who Open Doors claimed was “mentioned whenever there is a complaint of discrimination against Copts”.

The success of Hany Ramzy, who played 124 matches for Egypt, was an exception to the rampant anti-Christian discrimination in Egyptian sport rather than proof of inclusivity, they said.

Open Doors said: “In Egypt, discrimination against Christians extends even as far as sports, it seems.