David Beckham
David Beckham cancels trip to Israel
Real Madrid team arrives in Israel as a guest of the Peres Center for Peace. Star Beckham not joining because of differences with management; rest of team coming as planned
The Real Madrid soccer team is scheduled to arrive here on June 19 as the guest of the Peres Center for Peace.
Upon landing, the team will meet Israeli and Palestinian children at the Center's twinned soccer schools. A friendly game against the "Peace Team" comprised of Palestinian and Israeli players, will take place at the Ramat Gan stadium.
The team initially announced its visit to Israel on its homepage, saying its players were coming to support the goals of the Peres Center for Peace and out of a commitment to achieve peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
Thursday morning, however, the Real Madrid management announced David Beckham canceled his visit but added that the rest of the team was coming as planned.
Ron Pundak, Director of Peres Center for Peace: "Beckham's cancellation does not change the magnitude and importance of the event. I am happy that one of the leading football teams in the world is determined to come and identifies with our goals. Players such as Raul, van Nistelrooy, Guti and others volunteered to come here to see our activities firsthand and to play with us. Their arrival is a sign of our success."
