Brighton & Hove Albion football club has attempted to suppress a report about its Israeli player, Tomer Hemed, posing for photographs with pro-Israel activists.
Mr Hemed spotted the small group of Israeli flag-waving demonstrators in the city centre last weekend. They were attending a regular fortnightly protest.
But when the JC asked the club for comment, its head of media and communications, Paul Camillin, threatened to contact lawyers if the newspaper ran a story.
Mr Camillin implied that Mr Hemed's friendship with teammate Beram Kayal, an Israeli Arab, could be compromised if the player's encounter with the pro-Israel activists was reported.
Mr Camillin said: "From our point of view we would prefer that [Mr Hemed] wasn't dragged into something that he wasn't part of. Tomer saw all the Israeli flags and wandered across to say 'what's this about?' - and they told him...
"I don't think it would be fair to associate him with the protest... I don't think, for obvious reasons, it would be fair to pull him into that, given that his best mate is Beram Kayal...
"I don't think it's very fair to say he turned up at a protest. He hasn't, he's walked past and people asked him for photos because he's an Israeli international."
He added: "I think I am going to have to speak to our lawyers."
