Qatar-owned BeIN Sports removes Maccabi Haifa from Twitter post

Media company based in Gulf kingdom, which does not maintain diplomatic relations with Israel, snubs Israeli soccer team from post listing teams playing in next edition of UEFA Champions League
i24NEWS|
Qatar-owned BeIN Sports on Thursday removed Israeli soccer club Maccabi Haifa from a Twitter post listing teams that qualified for the UEFA Champions League.
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  • The media company based in the Qatari capital Doha displayed the eight groups after the draw in a series of Twitter posts, but the Maccabi Haifa FC logo was missing from the fourth group that included Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), Juventus Turin and Benfica Lisbon.
    2 View gallery
    Maccabi Haifa players
    Maccabi Haifa players
    Maccabi Haifa players
    (Photo: Omri Stein)
    Thus, only 31 teams were shown instead of the 32 that qualified.
    The Twitter post without Maccabi Haifa has since been deleted.
    BeIN Sports is owned and funded by Qatar and is the most popular sports broadcaster in the Middle East. The network owns the broadcasting rights to the Champions League.
    2 View gallery
    Maccabi Haifa players
    Maccabi Haifa players
    Maccabi Haifa players
    (Photo: Joe Hirsch, Maccabi Haifa website)
    The Gulf state, which is hosting the World Cup this November, does not maintain diplomatic relations with Israel. Its leaders are considered strong supporters of the Palestinian cause and Qatar is a major funder of the Hamas terrorist group in the Gaza Strip.
    Maccabi Haifa kicks off its Champions League campaign at Benfica on September 6 and then hosts PSG at home at Sammy Ofer Stadium on September 14.

    Reprinted with permission from i24NEWS.
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