Every now and then Bolton Wanderers in England goes on a training trip in the middle of the season. This year, the club picked Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. The UAE is a generally nice country when it comes to politics, and reportedly does permit people with Israeli entry/exit stamps in their passports to enter the country. There is even an unofficial office of Israeli interests. It is a semi embassy made up of Israeli government employees with foreign passports. Tal Ben Haim was told of the training camp and asked the club to check if he is permited to enter the country. I am sure that if he just went without checking they would let him through at passport control, but the club came back to him and said that he would not be permited to enter the United Arab Emirates because he is Israeli. Why would the club continue to support this country? Then the club also asked all players with Israeli entry/exit stamps in their passports to get new passports. The whole thing makes me sick.
It seems that it is just a team vacation. Not a training camp: Bolton goes to Dubai, Ben Haim stays home - Yediot Aharonot
Re: Ben Haim not permited to train with Bolton in Dubai, United Arab Emirates I can't say I am surprised, but I am appaled that English clubs continue to do this knowing what is going on in the world. Also, I guess if Ben-Haim was of another race, they would make sure that they would go where everyone is allowed to go. I guess he means that much to Bolton.
This is not the first time that the UAE has been caught of being anti-Israel. They often need Israeli business and do a lot of business with Israel. But when a hospital in Dubai received hospital clothing that said on the tags, "Made In Israel". They returned it to the manufacturer claiming that the clothes are probably not sterile for hospital use.
Israelis left out of West Ham's training trip to the Gulf - The Guardian Even the star power of Yossi Benayoun could not change the authorities in the United Arab Emirates.