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(单词翻译)
By Vivian Salama
Cairo
21 June 2006
Arab soccer fans are expressing outrage1 after a player on Ghana's national team triumphantly2 waved an Israeli flag to celebrate a goal scored by his team at the World Cup. Player John Paintsil normally plays for an Israeli club. In a formal apology issued by the Ghana Football Association, officials say the Ghanaian defender3 will not be reprimanded.
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It was during the 84th minute of Saturday's World Cup match between Ghana and the Czech Republic when Arab fans' cheers fell silent. After Ghana scored its second goal against its opponent, the team's defender John Paintsil celebrated4 in a way no one expected - he pulled an Israeli flag from his sock and waved it for cameras.
The move immediately struck a chord with Arab spectators. After calling the goal, legendary5 Egyptian sports announcer and former footballer Mimi El-Sherbini paused momentarily then said, on the air, "What are you doing, man?"
Egyptian soccer fans like Ibrahim El-Houdaiby were outraged6.
"It would not bother me the same if it were a French flag that was raised simply because French does not occupy an Arab country, it does not kill civilians7 everyday; it does not kill or damage houses everyday, so this is a different situation," explained El-Houdaiby.
Many Egyptian soccer fans were backing Ghana's team prior to this incident, as it is the only team from Africa expected to advance in the World Cup.
Ghana is scheduled to play the United States on Thursday, but fans like El-Houdaiby believe they would still rather support Ghana over the United States, given the existing political sentiments against the United States.
Egypt is one of only two countries in the Arab world which has made peace with Israel since the nation was established a half century ago. Nonetheless, the ongoing8 conflict between Israel and the Palestinians means most Arabs regard Israel as an enemy.
Regardless of the politics, some analysts9, like Egyptian sports columnist10 Hassan El-Mestekawi, argue that the move by Paintsil violated the basic principles of international sportsmanship.
"We were angered because soccer promotes ideologies11 of peace and understanding between human beings and it has no correlation12 with politics," El-Mestekawi said.
Paintsil normally plays for Israel's Hapoel club. Israeli newspapers argue that the gesture served as a demonstration13 of the alliance between Israel and the less than 100 Ghanaian nationals who call the Jewish state home.
The Ghana Football Association has apologized for Paintsil's actions, blaming what it called the "naivety14" of the player. Association spokesman Randy Abbey added that what the player did "does not represent the political views of the team, the Ghana Football Association or indeed the Ghana government".
Beyond the sensitivities that exist between Israel and its Arab neighbors, the official policy of FIFA - the International Football Association - prohibits discriminatory acts - be it against race, religion or politics. Paintsil has not been reprimanded and he defends his actions by saying he just wanted to thank Israeli soccer fans for their support.
1 outrage | |
n.暴行,侮辱,愤怒;vt.凌辱,激怒 | |
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2 triumphantly | |
ad.得意洋洋地;得胜地;成功地 | |
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3 defender | |
n.保卫者,拥护者,辩护人 | |
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4 celebrated | |
adj.有名的,声誉卓著的 | |
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5 legendary | |
adj.传奇(中)的,闻名遐迩的;n.传奇(文学) | |
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6 outraged | |
a.震惊的,义愤填膺的 | |
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7 civilians | |
平民,百姓( civilian的名词复数 ); 老百姓 | |
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8 ongoing | |
adj.进行中的,前进的 | |
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9 analysts | |
分析家,化验员( analyst的名词复数 ) | |
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10 columnist | |
n.专栏作家 | |
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11 ideologies | |
n.思想(体系)( ideology的名词复数 );思想意识;意识形态;观念形态 | |
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12 correlation | |
n.相互关系,相关,关连 | |
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13 demonstration | |
n.表明,示范,论证,示威 | |
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14 naivety | |
n.天真,纯朴,幼稚 | |
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