Corbyn called for boycott of Arsenal over Israel adverts

JEREMY CORBYN demanded a boycott of Arsenal Football Club after it accepted sponsorship from the Israeli tourist board.

The Labour leader, an Arsenal fan, called for supporters to abandon the club over Israeli holiday adverts displayed at its stadium 12 years ago.

He told the Palestine Solidarity Campaign Trade Union Conference in 2006: “We must campaign against and boycott Arsenal Football Club for their arrangement with the Israeli tourist board. It is wrong to treat both parties [Israel and the Palestinians] as equals.”

The revelations risk embarrassing Mr Corbyn as he struggles to contain the party’s anti-semitism row.

Gideon Falter, the chairman of the Campaign Against Anti-semitism, said: “[His]obsession with Israel blinds him. He has called for a boycott of his own club, not because of its close association with the Emirates – which engages in torture and execution – but because of some obscure connection to Israel.”

A Labour spokesman said: “Jeremy has never boycotted an Arsenal game. He supports targeted action aimed at illegal settlements and the occupation of Palestinian territories, and has backed campaigns to bring it to an end.”