Amid Israel-Gaza Conflict: Looking At Football’s Relationship With Humanity
Liverpool Football fans show their support for Palestine during a match in Liverpool, UK. The Fans were seen holding the Palestinian flag amongst the crowd in Anfield Stadium in a show of solidarity for Palestine. The incident comes after the Premier League banned Palestinian and Israeli Flags from matches.
Liverpool fans also paid tribute to the Palestinians who have been killed by Israel’s bombings on Gaza with a minute’s silence.
Along with football fans showing support for Palestine, football players have stood in support including French footballer Karim Benzema who is of Algerian descent, expressed his support on Twitter which the French footballer later received criticism. A French Minister Gérald Darmanin has called for Benzema’s citizenship to be stripped from him and accused him of being part of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Club Deportivo Palestino, a football club based in Chile also displayed their support for Palestine announcing on X (formally known as Twitter) that the club will raise funds to purchase medical aid for Gaza. The tweet reads “The Palestinian Federation of Chile is raising monetary funds that will be used exclusively for the purchase of medical supplies for humanitarian aid in Gaza.”
Along with Benzema, Dutch-Moroccan footballer Anwar El Ghazi was suspended by the German club Mainz for an allegedly “Unacceptable” post relating to the conflict. The post has since been taken down.
In another instance, Liverpool’s Egyptian Football player Mohammed Salah posted a video onto his Instagram account where he called for an end to the violence and bloodshed between Palestine and Israel. He had posted the video after many people were waiting for the footballer to speak out against the Israeli bombardment of Gaza and the massacres that have occurred.
Salah faced backlash after the video was posted as they had expected him to choose his words supporting his fellow Arabs and the people of Palestine. He then later donated a significant amount to Egypt’s humanitarian organization Egyptian Red Crescent.
WE SAID THIS: Don’t Miss…Five In A Row! Mo Salah Gets Another Ballon D’Or Nomination
