Our friends over at NIJ report the following:

Many Norwegian media channels are today reporting on how one hundred more or less prominent Norwegians have signed a call for boycott of Israel. Communist football coach Egil Drillo Olsen, who works with the national football team, seems to be the designated leader of the pack this time. This will give prominent Israel-basher Dr. Mads Gilbert more time to manipulate the situation up at the hospital of Tromsø, where he is spearheading the resistance against providing the Norwegian army with doctors for the Norwegian soldiers in Afghanistan.

In Aftenposten today, communist football coach Egil Drillo Olsen claims: This (boycott of Israel) is in line with what 90 percent of the world’s population believes. There cannot be many other opinions then that the occupation is deeply objectionable and illegal.

“Everyone” believes that a boycott is the right strategy? And there “cannot be”  many other opinions? This kind of talk sounds familiar.

The boycotters will doubtless  the fact the coach of a national soccer team has joined their ranks, but let’s also remember that Norway is hardly a soccer power. Whether it’s the World Cup or the European Championship, they tend not to even qualify. It’s not like Vicente del Bosque has donned a keffiyeh.

At the same time, I have to ask where UEFA, the governing body of European football, is in all this. Israel, which plays soccer at the club and national levels in Europe because of the Arab boycott, is a member of UEFA. Is Olsen saying that he would refuse to field his side in the event that they were drawn against Israel? Sounds to me that’s exactly what he’s saying.

UEFA needs to take disciplinary action. Readers who wish to politely encourage them to do so should contact them here.