UAE sheikh buys stake in racism-tainted Israeli football club
Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Nahyan declared that he was "thrilled to be a partner in such a glorious club"
UAE's Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Nahyan has bought a 50% stake in the Israeli football club Beitar Jerusalem, long tainted by accusations of anti-Arab racism.
Statement by the club said Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Nahyan would invest $92 million in the football club over the next 10 years, reports the BBC.
Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Nahyan declared that he was "thrilled to be a partner in such a glorious club".
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The deal comes three months after the United Arab Emirates became the first Gulf Arab state to normalise relations with Israel.
The two countries, and Bahrain, signed an agreement to establish diplomatic relations at the White House in an accord brokered by the Trump administration.
Beitar Jerusalem is one of Israel's top football clubs. It has won six Israeli Premier League titles, most recently in 2007-8, and counts Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu among its supporters.
However, the club is well-known for a group of hardcore "ultra" fans, called "La Familia", that has been openly racist towards Arabs, who make up 20% of Israel's population.
