Despite a new law that recognizes Palestinian players in Lebanese professional football, they continue to face numerous obstacles in building a successful sports career.
Omar Adlabi, a former Palestinian football player, graced the Lebanese game for 23 years and was one of its most important players for ten years in the late 1980s, winning numerous titles with his team Al-Ansar along the way.
Today, however, he refuses to watch his son Mohammad play with Al-Ansar’s youth team.
“I neither want nor encourage my son to seek a career in football,” he says, adding that “football gave me nothing but the fans’ love — financially I gained nothing.”
Palestinian players are not new to the Lebanese football scene. However, since a new law was passed to regulate their participation in Lebanese clubs, the number has gradually increased.
Previously, Palestinian players were classified as foreigners. But as the number of foreign players increased, it became difficult for Palestinian players to break into teams.
Consequently, the Lebanese Football Association modified its laws and allowed each club to incorporate one Palestinian player as a local.
In case the club wanted to use more Palestinian players, additional recruits had to be categorized as foreigners.
Today, there are approximately 200 Palestinian players in the different Lebanese football divisions, including the youth league.
Sixteen Palestinians play in the first division, which has 12 clubs, while the same number plays in the second division, with 14 clubs.
Adlabi’s story is not the exception. Contrary to popular belief, in general, the Palestinian footballer does not suffer from discrimination in Lebanese clubs.
But both Palestinian and Lebanese players, some of whom have spent their best years on the field, have retired from the game with nothing.
However, a Palestinian player does not have access to all the benefits available to his Lebanese colleagues. For example, clubs usually find jobs for their players after their professional sports career has ended.
It is extremely difficult, however, for a club to find a job for a Palestinian, because Lebanese laws restrict the employment of Palestinians in many professions.
“I was denied many opportunities because of my Palestinian identity,” Adlabi explains. “I was not able to get a job or play for a national team. I could not even travel to some countries. Had I been Lebanese, it would probably have been different.”
Financial difficulties plague many footballers’ careers, often preventing them from focusing exclusively on their game. Many Palestinian players, for example, encourage others not to depend on football.
Wassim Abdel Hadi (29), a Palestinian footballer who plays for Racing Beirut, encourages the younger generation to give high priority to their education, which he considers the only guarantee of a stable future.
Abdel Hadi himself holds a degree in business management and will be able to find a job once his playing days are over.
Similarly, al-Ikha al-Ahli (Aley)'s Mustafa Halak (26) feels more comfortable than most because of his private business. However, he recommends that young players quit football and focus on careers that can guarantee a better future.
Abdel Hadi, on the other hand, encourages youth to play and does not regret choosing a career on the pitch. However, like the others, he stresses the importance of having another means of living available as an alternative.
He laments the opportunities Palestinian players lose because of their nationality. Under the current law, Abdel Hadi’s presence in a team has twice forced Palestinian teammates to sit out games.
In 2006, his Palestinian teammate in Tadamon Sour (Tyre), Mahmoud Boushkar, had to watch games from the stands, which led him to temporarily lose his touch.
The same thing happened in 2009 to Mohammad Balouni, Abdel Hadi’s teammate in Racing, despite the fact that the two play in completely different positions.
Abdel Hadi points out that the Iraqi coach Jassim Hassoun dared include Balouni as the foreign player of the team instead of the Sierra Leonian Donald Macintyre. But, he says, “it is rare for coaches to prefer local or Palestinian players to foreigners, no matter how little technical ability the foreigners have.”
These two incidents made Abdel Hadi prefer signing for teams that do not already have a Palestinian player.
Similarly Palestinian footballers face great difficulty achieving their dream of playing for a national team.
Abdel Hadi represented Palestine in the 2008 West Asian Championships in Iran. However, his involvement with the national team was limited, when the team started to play its games in Palestine, because he cannot travel there.
Meanwhile, the possibility of playing for the Lebanese national team is very small, as it is very difficult for a Palestinian player to acquire Lebanese nationality, especially with the complex problem of naturalizing Palestinians.
The national team remains the only bright spot in an otherwise dark landscape in Lebanese professional football.
Many footballers dream of a spot on the national team, among them Palestinians like Mustafa Halak, who, despite his pride in his Palestinian identity, wishes he was a Lebanese player or even a Lebanese citizen. And this, in a country that cannot seem to rid itself of discrimination even on the fields of this beautiful game.
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