Opinion: Robbie Keane’s reputation deserves to tumble after Israel move
Robbie Keane deserves criticism for Israel decision.
Robbie Keane has done more damage than he might realise by accepting the manager’s job at Israel side Maccabi Tel Aviv. Some of that damage is sociological – a lot of it is to his own reputation.
At a time when tireless efforts are being made to show solidarity with the long-suffering people of Palestine, Monday’s news arrived as a sore blow to campaigners.
Continuous boycotts, marches and demonstrations across the western world aim to educate the masses on the murderous actions of Israel, but the reality is that sportswashing pushes back harder in moments like this.
News of a former Premier League star like Keane taking his first managerial job reaches millions and does plenty to aid Israel’s international reputation in the process.
Conveyed from every football article about Keane’s tenure will be a whispered subtext that Israel is a standard sport-loving country just like ourselves.
Zoe Lawlor from the Irish Palestine Solidarity Campaign told Pundit Arena: ”It is beyond disappointing that Robbie Keane would take this position as manager of Maccabi Tel Aviv.
“Palestinians have told us for 75 years that Israel has perpetrated the crime of apartheid, amongst other crimes against humanity, against them and recent reports from Bt’selem, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International all affirm this.
“There is a Palestinian sporting boycott and call for the expulsion of the Israeli FA from FIFA and UEFA due to Israel’s brutal occupation and siege and this call should be respected.
“There is huge solidarity with the Palestinian people in Ireland, making this move to manage in an apartheid state even more shocking. We have to ask if Robbie Keane would have managed a team in apartheid South Africa.
“We urge all sportspeople of conscience to stand with the Palestinian football players murdered, maimed, incarcerated, denied travel, denied participation, their stadia bombed and tournaments cancelled by Israel and to not cross their picket line and all Palestinians.”
Keane refuses to take responsibility for Israel decision.
Keane, however, refused to be drawn into political discussion at his unveiling. Asked for his thoughts on the Irish criticism of his decision, he replied: “I don’t want to get into politics.”
“This is the last time I will say it. I’m here as a football man and someone that loves the game.”
Which could all be true. Keane has never suggested he has any great social conscience and has never shown an interest in politics.
Given his history of embracing the LA lifestyle, signing off his career with ATK in Calcutta, enjoying the celebrity circuit and benefiting from a four-year FAI contract for which he only fulfilled two – it is unsurprising that he took whatever career opportunity he considered best for him at this given time.
Perhaps the backlash would have been even greater if it was a bigger surprise – if it was a different ex-Ireland player. There is, at the very least, no hypocrisy from Keane.
It is very possible that he made this self-serving ‘football decision’ because of a lack of world news awareness and scorning someone’s actions because of their lack of education on a given matter never sits fully comfortably.
Responsibility.
But still, Keane’s case isn’t strong enough. In fact, the “I’m here as a football man” argument is as weak as it is convenient.
By being a public figure – whether or not you are educated or interested in social issues – you must acknowledge and accept responsibility over your influential actions. Ignorance makes your actions no less harmful.
Keane taking his first management gig is a significant story which was always going to reach millions of football fans across Ireland, the UK, mainland Europe and beyond.
By deciding to make that first gig Maccabi Tel Aviv, he will have added a layer of validity to Israel in the minds of many of those news readers and scrollers.
Every football news story tracking Keane’s work over the next while will have the same effect – as will his inevitable complimentary comments about the club, the country and its society.
More than 1,500 Irish artists and entertainers have pledged to boycott Israel to avoid cleaning the state’s reputation, but not Keane.
Instead he is normalising a problematic state through sports and entertainment – something we have seen many times before.
Maccabi mistake.
Arguments have been made that Maccabi Tel Aviv, though very flawed, have a much better reputation than the savagely anti-Arab Beitar Jerusalem.
But that really is setting the lowest bar – and isn’t important anyway, as they are both representatives for the same apartheid state.
According to DW.com Maccabi Tel Aviv’s ultra group shouted racist slurs in the direction of Mahran Radi back in 2014, an Arab-Israeli who then played for the club.
Graffiti was also sprayed in the Tel Aviv area, saying: “We don’t want Arabs at Maccabi!”. There was subsequently no Arab players signed by the club between 2014 and 2020.
While, only on Monday, racist chants and boos echoed around Israel’s national stadium as “supporters” projected their discrimination at the Arab players on their own team during Israel Vs Andorra.
As per the Irish Times: Fans at Teddy Stadium chanted “terrorist” and “Abu Fani is dead”. Most of the chants were directed at Maccabi Haifa midfielder Mohammed Abu Fani who is a ‘Palestinian Israeli’ – a group that makes up 20 percent of Israel’s population.
Tumbling reputation.
If Keane wants to stick to football, he should know these are some of the milder incidents where Israeli hatred has spoiled ‘the beautiful game’.
Far worse was the 2014 beach bombing incident that saw four Palestinian children killed while they were playing football shortly after watching the 2014 FIFA World Cup on TV.
If he thinks he can embrace Israeli culture, progress his career, get paid handsomely and pretend that politics doesn’t matter while he’s at it, then he is grossly misadvised.
He could have said he isn’t educated on the politics of Israel; that he will learn on the job and give a proper answer at a later date.
He didn’t – and so Ireland’s already complicated relationship with someone who should be a universally beloved sporting hero is further tarnished.
