The Argentine soccer team canceled its June 9 exhibition match in Israel, which stirred up emotions among the public and the media. On the one hand were those who blamed the Palestinians; the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS); the “cowardly” Argentinians; and any and all others. On the other hand were those who denounced the “political” decision of Minister of Culture and Sport Miri Regev to move the game from Haifa to Jerusalem, arguing that this caused the cancellation of the game.

Soccer fans in Israel — on the right and on the left — are disappointed that they won’t be hosting one of the best teams in the world and its big star, Lionel Messi.

Uri Cohen, 12, from Ramat Gan, sobbed when he heard that Messi, his idol, will not come to Israel, saying that his dream will not come true “because of bad people.” His father, Aviram Cohen, told Al-Monitor that he had finally succeeded, after much trouble, in getting tickets to the game as a birthday present for his son.

The sale of tickets was also shrouded in scandal, when it turned out that few tickets were available to the wider public, with most tickets having been reserved to those in politics and business. On May 31, the state comptroller even announced that he would look into this issue because of the many complaints.