In his letter, Abou Shahadeh asked the Barcelona president to refrain from participating in this game, so as to not grant legitimacy to Beitar Jerusalem FC, which he referred to as a "racist club," adding that "most of its fans hold racist and even dangerous views against Arab citizens."
Abou Shahadeh also noted that the official Beitar-Jerusalem fan organization, La Familia, is an organization that routinely supports Jewish terrorism and that its members have taken part in the violent and racist attacks against Palestinian Arab citizens, "especially in recent months."
His letter added that "We will do everything we can, including exerting political, diplomatic and media pressure to cancel the game, which hurts the feelings of both Palestinian Barcelona fans in Israel and of Arabs around the world."
"The Beitar Jerusalem team is known for its racism and hostility towards Arab society, and the group's fans are proud to demonstrate their hatred and outrageous racism through racist chants against Arabs on the pitches," the letter concluded, adding that "Racism must be condemned, not given legitimacy and encouragement."
In May, three leaders of the La Familia fan club were banned from attending games in an attempt to curb racism and violence at matches.
The film's plot focuses on Beitar Jerusalem’s 2012-2013 season, when then-owner Arkady Gaydamak brought two Muslim players from Chechnya on board – and the team’s fans were furious. Fans chanted racist slogans against the two players, threatened to kill the team’s chairman and stormed out of the stadium when one of the new players scored a goal.