Argentina has cancelled a World Cup warm-up match against Israel which was scheduled to be played at Jerusalem’s Teddy Kollek Stadium on Saturday. This comes after Palestinian Football Association chief Jibril Rajoub had reportedly made a written request to Claudio Tapia, the head of the Argentinian FA, to withdraw from the contest. Rajoub had also urged fans to burn Argentina captain Lionel Messi’s replica shirts if he takes part in the match.

Media reports said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had called Argentine President Mauricio Macri in an attempt to salvage the friendly tie. The news was met with cheers in Gaza, where at least 120 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces during recent protests.

In Ramallah in the West Bank, the Palestinian football association issued a statement thanking Argentine striker Lionel Messi and his colleagues for the cancellation.

"Values, morals and sport have secured a victory today and a red card was raised at Israel through the cancellation of the game," said chairman Jibril Rajoub.

The match, which was to be Argentina's final game before the start of their World Cup campaign in Russia later this month, was set to be played at a stadium in West Jerusalem.

The status of Jerusalem is highly sensitive. Israel regards Jerusalem as its "eternal and undivided" capital. Palestinians see the eastern part of the city as the capital of a future Palestinian state and were angered by a decision to relocate the game there from Haifa. (Inputs IANS).

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 06, 2018 08:58 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).