In football, duel between Iranian and Israeli is peaceful – 10/02/2024 – The World Is a Ball
On one side, Iranian striker Mehdi Taremi, 32, wearing Inter Milan’s number 99 shirt. On the other, Israeli goalkeeper Omri Glazer, 28, wearing Red Star’s number 18.
Their countries are enemies and are involved in the war in the Middle East, which also has Palestine and Lebanon as direct participants, with the involvement of the Islamic factions Hamas (terrorist) and Hezbollah (extremist).
Hours after Iran fired dozens of missiles at Israel, which defended itself with its advanced technological system against air attacks, Inter welcomed current seven-time champion Serbia to Italy.
The match, valid for the second round of the new Champions League, the main interclub in Europe, could generate animosity between Taremi and Glazer, if they decided to defend the political and religious ideals of their countries.
There have been cases in sport, including at the Olympic Games, in which a certain athlete refused to face another because of diplomatic disagreements.
However in football, at least this time, that was not what happened at the Giuseppe Meazza stadium, also known as San Siro.
There, peace reigned, with disputes restricted to just one or another harsher foul from both teams.
Taremi and Glazer only had one moment of direct confrontation, restricted exclusively to the sporting sphere.
In the 32nd minute of the second half of a match that Inter was winning well, 3-0, due to their greater competence in finishing, German referee Felix Zwayer awarded a penalty for the home team, conceded by Argentine Lautaro Martínez.
The official penalty taker of the Milanese team is the Turkish Çalhanoglu, who had already been replaced.
Lautaro would be the next option, but the top scorer preferred to give a chance to Taremi, who had arrived at Inter for this season, coming from Portuguese Porto, and was lacking goals.
The Iranian was already the main figure in the match, assisting the second goal, by Austrian Arnautovic, and the third, by Lautaro – the first, who scored was Çalhanoglu, with a free kick.
Taremi was then face to face with Glazer, separated by a distance of 16.5 meters – the first on the line of the penalty area, the second on the goal line.
They looked at each other for a few seconds, at that moment when the goalkeeper tries to guess what the striker will do, where he will kick the ball.
If there was any memory from each regarding the recent missiles fired by Iran – which Israel promised to retaliate – and the hostilities between the nations that began 45 years ago, nothing was noticed.
Taremi got the better of Glazer. He took the shot with medium force, in the middle of the goal, at half height, and the goalkeeper fell to the right. No provocations during the celebration.
So, if they didn’t exchange cuddles or hugs, this Iranian and this Israeli set an example of civility, something that the leaders of their homelands are very far from exhibiting.
All that was left, after the game was over, were they to come forward to condemn the destructive and bloodthirsty conflict in the Middle East, the lack of consideration for others, the anger, the hatred, the violence.
Only Taremi, voted man of the match, spoke to the microphones: “We’re like a family here, we always want the best for each one. That’s the main thing in our team.”
It’s a shame that the speech is so restrictive and doesn’t cover the right dimension.
The family should not be “just here”, but also there, there, there, anywhere. And “the best for each person” should be desired for all human beings. That is, or should be, the main thing.
LINK PRESENT: Did you like this text? Subscribers can access seven free accesses from any link per day. Just click the blue F below.
