ANTON RIPPON on reports in Spain that have sent conspiracy theorists into overdrive
A Spanish sports journalist has accused a “Jewish lobby” of working with Mossad, the Israeli secret service, to undermine a £125 million sponsorship deal with Spanish football giants Barcelona.
In his latest op-ed for Mundo Deportivo, Catalan writer Xavier Bosch has claimed that lobbyists with “unlimited money and inordinate influence” who are trying to “control the world and its international institutions” are now involving themselves in European football.
European Cup-winners Barcelona are, according to Bosch, prime targets for this alliance aimed at world domination. Bosch warned that pressure is being put on Barcelona to end its $200 million shirt sponsorship deal with Qataris.
Writing in the oldest sports newspaper published in Spain, he also claimed that Mossad had been infiltrating the club for years, an accusation some believe to be a nod towards former Barca president Joan Laporta. Laporta, who is again running for president of Barcelona in elections scheduled for July 18, is reported to have once hired detectives to spy on players.
Which seems a long way from international espionage but when you’re looking for a link …
The Spanish pro-Israel group Hatzad Hasheni said it was “despicable” that Mundo Deportivo would “provide Xavier Bosch with a platform to recite … the Protocols of the Elders of Zion”. The group said it was “appalled and hurt” that Deportivo allowed Bosch’s article to be published.
Bosch hit back at claims his article was anti-semitic: “I have full admiration for the Jewish people, I don’t harbour any sort of anti-semitism,” he said, adding that the allegations were “a malicious misinterpretation of my piece”.
Fernando Polo, a content editor who looks after the FC Barcelona section of Mundo Deportivo, said that the newspaper does not “bowdlerize [Bosch’s] pieces … This one is controversial, but it’s a good one. [Bosch] is simply concerned about the external pressure [FC Barcelona] and its board are receiving against the Qatar sponsorship … Bosch just wants what’s best for the club, without opposition from outside. There is no anti-semitism in his article. He is against any kind of lobby: French, German, Jewish.”
Football, it seems, isn’t the only target.
In March, the Barcelona daily Sport, a paper aimed primarily at a Catalonia-based readership, claimed that Barcelona city authorities had banned fans from waving Palestinian flags during a Euroleague basketball game between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Barcelona.
According to the newspaper, Mossad agents were positioned in the stands, prepared to stop fans attempting any provocation against Israel.
Where will it all end? Before you know it we’ll have Newcastle United calling in MI6.
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