Paintsil's Brother In Jail In Israel

JERUSALEM, June 23 (UPI) -- The brother of a player on Ghana's World Cup soccer team who was arrested in Israel for an illegal visa says he cannot return to Ghana for fear of his life.

Mark Paintsil says his family, now living in London, cannot visit Ghana because of an incident at the previous World Cup involving his older brother John, who played for many years as one of the most popular foreign players on two of Israel's top soccer teams, Ynetnews reported Wednesday.

The trouble for the Paintsil family began when John celebrated the Ghana national team's victory over the Czech team during the 2006 World Cup in Germany by running across the field waving an Israeli flag.

That gesture of gratitude to a country that had treated him so well got John and the rest of the Paintsil family in hot water in their native Ghana, where many were outraged at the exhibition of patriotism for another country.

When Mark Paintsil and his sister recently visited Israel, the younger brother decided to stay to train with an Israeli soccer club while his sister continued with her travels.

"She later went back to Ghana, but was harassed. There is no way I can go back there," he added.

When Israeli authorities discovered Mark's tourist visa was expired, they declared him an illegal alien.

For Paintsil to obtain a proper visa, officials told the soccer team, he would have to return to Ghana and then come back to Israel under the team's sponsorship.

"I cannot return to Ghana because I truly fear for my life," Paintsil says. "My sister, after returning to Ghana, joined my brother and parents in London immediately, and now I am in prison and there is nothing I can do."