Saudi football club deletes tweet expressing solidarity with Gaza

Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal Football Club removed a promotional image for their upcoming match on Friday which included a gesture of solidarity with the Gaza Strip, causing an uproar across various social media platforms.

The club had posted a photo of player Ali Al-Bulaihi on X wearing a Palestinian Keffiyeh as part of the run-up to the match against Al-Khaleej in the Saudi Pro League. It was online for less than hour, but was viewed by more than one million followers of the club account before it was deleted.

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The club has since failed to address the deleted tweet and made no further references to the Israeli attacks against Gaza. Those who had shared it apologised for “posting tweets related to political matters in our beloved sport.”

Nasser Al-Qarni, the son of political detainee Awad Al-Qarni, criticised those who apologised and the government for abandoning a neutral stance in the conflict and choosing to align with the Israeli occupation. “Day after day, and news after news, it becomes clear that the Saudi regime is no longer neutral in the Palestinian issue, and unfortunately it has chosen to stand by the occupation,” he said.

"اعتذر على ما بدر مني من نشر تغريدات لها علاقه بالأمور السياسة في رياضتنا الحبيبة."

التعميم كان لكل من نشر صورة تضامن نادي #الهلال مع #غزة إلى أين يا بلادي ؟
يوم بعد يوم وخبر بعد خبر يتضح أن النظام السعودي لم يعد محايد في القضية الفلسطينية وللأسف اختار الوقوف بجانب الاحتلال. pic.twitter.com/G9wu5TgLKC

— ناصر بن عوض القرني (@NasserAwadQ) October 20, 2023

Meanwhile, the Algerian Football Association has suspended all matches “until further notice” to show solidarity with the Gaza Strip which is being bombarded by Israeli air strikes, Anadolu has reported.

In addition, Manchester United footballing legend and former French forward Eric Cantona demonstrated his support for Palestine in an Instagram post originally shared by Canadian-Lebanese author Najwa Zebian: “‘Free Palestine’ means free Palestinians from the Israeli occupation that’s been depriving them of their basic human rights for 75 years.”

The number of martyrs in the Gaza Strip has risen to 5,182, including 2,055 children, 1,119 women and 217 elderly people. Thousands of others have been injured, amid a shortage of medicines and medical supplies in hospitals. The number of Israelis killed stands at 1,400, including 220 army officers and soldiers.

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