How a sixth-tier football club has been torn apart in a pro-Hamas storm

Telegraph

20-04-2025

When Dagenham and Redbridge announced last Monday that two Egyptians with 'a dream' had partnered with the club it seemed the sky was the limit.
At a hastily arranged meeting with fans the sixth-tier club hinted at doing 'a Wrexham' and even raised hopes they could be in the Premier League within a decade.
Marwan Serry, an actor and YouTuber with millions of followers, joined as a co-owner, flanked by new director of development Salma Mashhour to create 'one of the teams of choice for people in the Middle East'. 'We're really happy to be partnered with Marwan and Salma,' chairman Daniel Hall told Sky Sports.
It is fair to say sentiments have swiftly changed. Instead, the club has become embroiled in an incendiary diplomatic incident over support for Hamas as:
Mashhour was sacked for pro-Hamas tweets
Serry has cut all ties with Dagenham and suggested he will take legal action
Egyptian media outlets have lambasted the influence of 'the Jewish lobby' and 'pro-Zionist voices' on British football
The club is under increasing pressure from local Muslim groups over its decisions.
Such an outcome would never have been considered possible when Serry first made clear his interest in buying an English club. He instructed Mashhour to make that happen, with his demand being for a team that played in red to help Egyptians make the connection with their national icon Mohamed Salah.
When they alighted on Dagenham it seemed love at first sight, with the National League side clearly believing they could ride the coat-tails of Egyptian success.
'You look at the renaissance of Egyptian football right now as well with Salah also staying in Liverpool and Omar Marmoush coming across,' said Hall gleefully as he looked to a promising future.
The response from supporters of a club that traces back its ancestry to 1881, however, was lukewarm. Many homed in on Serry admitting 'I don't have a lot of money actually'. Mashhour nevertheless maintained: 'Long term ambitions on the pitch is to eventually reach the Premier League. That's the dream.'
Yet within hours it was all falling apart. David Collier, a journalist, posted on X that Mashhour's arrival at the club was 'shameful' as she had posted about 'completely understanding Hamas and Oct 7 – making it all Israel's fault'. 'An end to 50 years of support for me,' he added.
The now-deleted Instagram post by Mashhour, a vlogger who regularly covers Premier League football, had gone up on October 30 2023, just weeks after the attack. 'I do not condemn Hamas,' she had written. 'Self-defence is not terrorism… Palestine will be free.'
Jewish News also subsequently published a seven-minute-long video in which she appeared to be peddling conspiracy theories about the attack, saying the atrocity was 'convenient' for Benjamin's Netanyahu's administration.
Masshour sacked 'with immediate effect'
The response locally was ferocious. Labour MP Margaret Mullane sought an urgent meeting with the club's management over the 'deeply concerning' situation while a Change.org petition demanded Mashhour's removal, alleging her posts justified terrorism and clashed with the club's values of diversity.
The club agreed and Mashhour was sacked 'with immediate effect' on Thursday.
Yet that was only half the story. However, amid dismay in Egypt at criticism, Serry stood by Masshour and was vocally opposed to her dismissal. In the hours afterwards he posted a video of himself alongside a tearful looking Mashhour, and described the sacking as 'unacceptable… something I did not know, something I won't shut up about'.
'I ask of you now please, no one will go to the match tomorrow,' he added, before offering to personally refund any tickets. The club's actions 'we completely reject....the topic is very big, strong, strong'.
The Egyptian businessman at the heart of the Dagenham & Redbridge FC sacking scandal, Marwan Serry, has released a video detailing how he has ditched his investment in the club over their sacking of pro-Palestine Arab director Salma Mashhour.
Mr Serry alleges that "racism" by a… pic.twitter.com/qvC5W8OI5m
— 5Pillars (@5Pillarsuk) April 19, 2025
Serry has since walked away from the club too, cutting all ties. 'We will not compromise our principles,' he said on Friday as he announced he would take legal action against Dagenham.
Beyond the impact on Dagenham, the story is now threatening to become an extraordinary UK-Egypt diplomatic issue, having become a major news story in the country. Broadcaster Ibrahim Abdel Gawad said on social media: 'Britain claims to protect human and animal rights, but what happened to Salma Mashhour shows the West applies double standards and acts with racism against dissenting voices.'
A Cairo-based journalist told Telegraph Sport how the incident had become a major furore because it had added 'salt to the wounds' of an Egyptian perception that English football is pro-Israel.
Influence of 'pro-Israel' voices'
'The appointment of Mashhour – seen as a rising media star and a symbol of Arab representation in British football management – was hailed as a progressive moment,' he added. 'But her swift removal has turned that hope into dismay.'
Media outlets Al-Masry Al-Youm and Cairo 24 launched scathing attacks on Collier as a 'Zionist provocateur' and both blamed what they described as the 'Jewish lobby' for orchestrating Mashhour's ousting. 'The influence of pro-Israel voices on British football is undeniable,' added Cairo 24, alleging that political pressures stemmed from Jewish communities in Ilford and Redbridge played a decisive role in the club's actions.
Mashhour and her business partner Serry have made no secret of their support for Palestine in recent years. Serry – founder of the Egyptian football page 'Erza3'– has published pictures of himself in a Palestine captain's armband. He has even criticised Salah in videos for not being more outspoken on Gaza. 'Still, the fallout is far from over,' added another established figure in Egyptian media. 'As Egyptian anger grows and pro-Palestine voices rally behind Mashhour, the pressure on Dagenham and Redbridge – and British football as a whole – to clarify its stance on political expression is unlikely to ease any time soon.'
The club remains under pressure from its local Muslim groups too. It emerged on Sunday how Darul Ihsaan Mosque in Barking had emailed a complaint saying 'we were deeply dismayed to learn of the dismissal... particularly following pressure from vocal anti-Arab lobby groups'.
'Racist voices do not represent the diverse and vibrant community of Dagenham,' the mosque added. 'The club needs to change direction and embrace it's local people.'
For fans, it has been a mystifying week. Most supporters blame Hall, the chairman, for creating a 'shambles'. 'Apparently there is a pro-Palestine protest organised for today at the club,' said the Once a Dagger fan account. 'Thank you Dan Hall for dragging the club into this mess.'
Improved fortunes on the field after a miserable run have therefore been a welcome distraction. Josh Umerah's late winner against the already-relegated Ebbsfleet keeps them in the fight for survival. But on an Easter weekend, the three points fail to disguise an unprecedented unholy mess at Victoria Road.