Close to 100 Palestinian football players have been killed during Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza that began last October, according to the Palestinian Football Association.
Chants of Free Palestine rang out in Malaga in Spain as a jubilant crowd celebrated the country’s victory over England at Sunday night’s 2024 European Championship final.
In video footage shared on social media, football fans in Madrid are seen waving the Palestinian flag following Spain’s 2 – 1 win.
And an English fan, while being interviewed live on Sky News, used the opportunity to exclaim ‘Free Palestine!’
Asked what he thought of the English defeat, the fan said “They played really good, amazing … But tonight they couldn’t make it. But all I’m going to say is, Free Palestine, Free Palestine!”
Spanish fans in Malaga bring out Palestinian flags and chant Free Palestine after Spain won the #EURO2024 🇵🇸✊🏽🇪🇸
So much love for my homecity! pic.twitter.com/6qOx6zqD1I
— Leyla Hamed (@leylahamed) July 15, 2024
The interviewer responded: “We’ll leave that there, thank you very much. We don’t need that tonight do we …”
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 38,584 Palestinians have been killed, and 88,881 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.
Footballers Killed
Amongst those killed are nearly 100 Palestinian football players, the Palestinian Football Association (PFA) has said.
Two of the players were on the Palestinian National Team, including Mohamed Barakat, known as “the legend of Khan Younis”. Barakat was the first Palestinian to score over 100 goals professionally.
On Saturday, the goalkeeper for Shabab Khan Yunis Football Club, Shadi Abu al-Araj, was killed in the Al-Mawasi massacre carried out by the Israeli army in the Khan Yunis area, in southern Gaza.
‘Legend of Khan Yunis’ – Israel Kills Top Gaza, Arab Footballer
Ali Dahlan, the club’s spokesman, said Abu al-Araj was not the first athlete of the club to be killed; previous victims include Captain Taha Kalab, the former technical director and director of the youth sector, and Mohammed Barakat, the club captain and a senior player.
The spokesman condemned the “crime of killing Palestinian athletes,” the destruction of the club’s headquarters by Israeli airstrikes, the burning of its facilities and sports halls, and the bulldozing of its fields.
He also criticized the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) for remaining silent on these Israeli crimes.
England fan: “Free Palestine”
Sky News : “we don’t need that”
Retweet if you agree with the. England fan! pic.twitter.com/avTIsN3HhA
— Nadeem Ahmed (@Muqadaam) July 15, 2024
Pressure on FIFA
In March, the PFA submitted a proposal, supported by six member associations, to FIFA to discuss Israeli human rights violations against Palestinians during the FIFA Congress scheduled to take place on May 17 in Thailand.
The proposal “calls for immediate sanctions against Israeli teams over unprecedented violations of human rights committed by the Israeli occupation in Palestine, particularly in the Gaza Strip,” the PFA said at the time.
The call by the PFA came as up to 60 rights groups accused FIFA of applying “a different yardstick to Israeli actions” which undermines its credibility and exposes the world football body “to allegations of political bias and hypocrisy.”
In a letter to FIFA, the groups demanded “the immediate suspension of Israeli football teams from all competitions in light of its ongoing genocide” in the Gaza Strip.
‘Political Bias and Hypocrisy’ – Rights Groups Pressure FIFA to suspend Israel
Sanctions Urged
The organizations stressed that it was “surprising that while both UEFA and FIFA suspended Russia from all competitions in 2022, they continue to turn a blind eye to Israel with the result that its teams continue to participate freely in international competitions.”
The organizations urged FIFA to do “the right thing and apply the same sanctions to Israel that you have done in the case of Russia.”
In May, FIFA ordered an independent legal assessment of a request by the PFA to suspend Israel over its ongoing genocidal onslaught on Gaza.
“FIFA will mandate as of now, independent legal expertise to analyze and assess the three requests made by the Palestinian Football Association and ensure the statutes of FIFA are applied in the correct way,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino announced at the organization’s annual congress in Bangkok.
Palestinian football teams, including the national team, have often been prevented from moving freely between the occupied West Bank and the besieged Gaza.
Gaza players have been repeatedly prevented from joining the national team squad in regional and international matches.
FIFA suspended the South African FA from international competition in 1965 and expelled it from the association in 1976, due to its policy of apartheid. The country returned to the world stage after 16 years.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
