Spanish football giant FC Barcelona is reported to have forced one of its young stars to delete a pro-Palestine Instagram post, Palestine Online reported.
According to the news website, 20-year-old winger Abde Ezzalzouli, who is a Moroccan international player, shared footage showing last week’s Israeli attacks on Palestinians in Al-Aqsa Mosque, but the club pressured him to take it down.
Ezzalzouli is a rising star in Catalonia. Although he plays for Morocco, the Royal Spanish Football Federation were so desperate to get him to commit his future to Spain that they put pressure on him not to play for his country of birth.
Barcelona FC is reported to have forced player Abde Ezzalzouli to delete his instagram stories supporting Palestinian rights.
Here is the President of Barcelona FC, Joan Laporta, meeting with Israeli President Issac Herzog at his official residence in 2021. pic.twitter.com/VTBG3Q872F
— Lowkey (@Lowkey0nline) April 19, 2022
The report about Ezzalzouli being forced to delete his social media post supporting Palestine has sparked criticism and allegations of double standards in the world of sport.
“The hypocrisy that the Ukraine war has uncovered is truly staggering,” said a shocked football fan on Twitter. With mass displays of solidarity with Ukraine, European football clubs, including FC Barcelona, ignored their own advice about not mixing politics with sport, which has been the usual official response every time a player has tried to show solidarity with Palestine.
Barcelona player Abdessamad "Abde" Ezzalzouli posted this on Instagram but after 2 hours he deleted it.
If it was against Russia, he would have been appreciated. But sadly, he might be getting threats from the club itself as it's against Israel. #IsraeliTerrorism #Palestine pic.twitter.com/3paKHe2ef9— brown boy (@salmanwasimkhan) April 19, 2022
“That’s me finished with Barcelona,” said another Twitter user and an apparent supporter of the club. “Support for UNICEF just a veneer.” The UN body is one of FC Barcelona’s sponsors.
FC Barcelona has not commented on the issue. The club has, however, shown in the past that it is willing to stand up against the Israeli occupation of Palestine.
Ramzy Baroud: “Israel’s war on Palestinian sports is as old as the Israeli state itself.”
Read our latest article, “Politics and Sports Do Mix: On FIFA’s Hypocrisy in Palestine and the Need to Isolate Apartheid Israel”, now on https://t.co/HRBMHPKhmH pic.twitter.com/T4zeokwdps
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) March 12, 2022
In July last year, FC Barcelona refused to play against an Israeli club in occupied Jerusalem. However, in 2013, Barcelona stars Lionel Messi and Gerard Pique were photographed alongside the far-right Prime Minister of Israel at the time, Benjamin Netanyahu, during a club visit to Israel and the occupied West Bank.
(MEMO, PC, Social Media)
