THE Scottish Muslim Awards have severed ties with a hotel due to host their event after it welcomed the Israeli women’s football team as guests.
The Macdonald Inchyra Hotel near Falkirk was due to host the annual awards on September 28.
However, organisers said they would be choosing a new venue after learning that the Israeli women’s football team had stayed there as guests ahead of their Euro 2025 qualifier against Scotland at Hampden Park last week.
The qualifier was played behind closed doors due to concerns about disruptive protests.
Indeed, during the match hundreds gathered outside the stadium waving Palestine flags and banners demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
A 24-year-old man was also arrested and later charged after he appeared to chain himself to one of the goalposts, delaying kick-off by around 45 minutes.
The Israeli team then held up a t-shirt which read “Bring Them Home” during the official team photographs – a reference to the hostages taken by Hamas during the October 7 attack.
Scotland won the match 4-1.
More than 35,000 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel began bombarding the Palestinian territory in the immediate aftermath of the Hamas attack.
A spokesperson for the Scottish Muslim Awards said they could not support a venue which legitimised “genocide on the people in Gaza”.
“It is with great disappointment we have to find a new venue for the Scottish Muslim Awards 2024 - an event to recognise the achievements and talents of Scottish Muslims, to overcome the proliferation of Islamophobia, by identifying role models from across all sectors, for a new generation,” they said.
"However, we could not host it at a venue which chooses to legitimise the ongoing genocide on the people in Gaza. So, for that reason, we will be choosing a new venue.
“Choosing to host a national sports team of Israel, whilst its government continues the horrific and illegal slaughter of families in Gaza, is not acceptable and not in line with the values of the Scottish Muslim Awards.
“Therefore we will choose a venue which is in closer alignment with the spirit of the awards.
“The awards are still going ahead and we are more determined than ever to recognise and celebrate the great, the good and the amazing, from the pool of talent across Muslim communities in Scotland.
“We will confirm a new venue and date in due course. We call on everyone, Muslim and non-Muslim, Scottish and not Scottish, to do whatever they can to stand in solidarity with the people of Gaza.”
Last Friday, the day following Scotland’s match against Israel, two protesters staged a demonstration outside the Macdonald Inchyra Hotel with a loud hailer.
They were asked to move on by police officers who said “the hotel doesn’t want you on their land”.
A video of the incident showed protesters arguing with officers, who said they were alerted to concerns of “some sort of disorder”.
“There is no sign of disorder,” said one protester.
“As far as I understand, it is private property with a presumed right of public access, the public can wander in and out at will and we have political rights to free speech here."
An officer then asked the protesters to move to the other side of the road, claiming it was a “question of public safety”.
A protester replied: "There is no issue of public safety. It is a screwed up world when you come and protest against genocide and [are] impeded by Police Scotland."
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Officers attended planned protests at a business premises in Grangemouth on Thursday, 30 May, 2024 and Friday, 31 May, 2024.
"The group dispersed and there were no arrests.
“We continue to engage with those organising demonstrations to ensure rights to peaceful assembly and protest are protected while minimising disruption to communities and businesses.”
