Latest news with #PalestinianPelé
Middle East Eye
5 days ago
- Sport
- Middle East Eye
Uefa raises banner saying 'stop killing children' before PSG-Tottenham match
Before the start of the European Super Cup match between Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Tottenham in Italy, the Union of European Football Associations (Uefa) raised a banner reading: "Stop killing children... Stop killing civilians," referring to the ongoing genocide of Palestinians in Gaza. Uefa also shared the message on X : "From the UEFA Super Cup in Udine, the message is loud and clear. A banner. A call." On 9 August, Uefa paid tribute to Palestinian footballer Suleiman al-Obeid, known as the "Palestinian Pelé", following his killing in an Israeli attack in southern Gaza. "Farewell to Suleiman al-Obeid, the 'Palestinian Pelé'," Uefa wrote on social media. "A talent who gave hope to countless children, even in the darkest of times." Uefa omitted to mention the circumstances of his death, drawing criticism from thousands, including Liverpool star Mohamed Salah, who asked: 'Can you tell us how he died, where, and why?' In November 2024, PSG fans had unfurled a "Free Palestine" banner during a Champions League match against Atletico Madrid. After demands for sanctions against the team were raised, Uefa had said it only bans political messages perceived as insulting or provocative, which wasn't the case with the pro-Palestine banner. According to the Palestinian Football Association, at least 400 footballers have been killed by Israel in Gaza. Nearly 300 sports facilities, including stadiums, gyms and club buildings, have been destroyed.
The 42
5 days ago
- Sport
- The 42
Mo Salah has led where Fifa and Uefa have failed: Israel must be held to account
HOWEVER LIVERPOOL FANS had imagined their new-look team would play in Sunday's Community Shield, none could have forecast such a meagre contribution from Mohamed Salah. Salah had fewer touches than any other outfield player in the first half and had a single shot on target across the whole game, before then blazing his penalty over the bar as Liverpool fell to a shootout defeat to Crystal Palace. He should be forgiven for an uncharacteristically quiet day, though, as nothing he could have done at Wembley would have matched his off-field statement from the day before. On Friday evening, Uefa posted a curiously vague tribute to the former Palestinian international footballer, Suleiman al-Obeid. 'Farewell to Suleiman al-Obeid, the 'Palestinian Pelé'', read Uefa's post on their social media channels. 'A talent who gave hope to countless children, even in the darkest of times.' Read that post without knowing the context and you'd be forgiving for wondering what exactly had happened to Suleiman al-Obeid. Had he just retired from football? Maybe he had just left a job at Uefa? Salah accentuated Uefa's lack of clarity, quoting their post and adding, 'Can you tell us how he died, where, and why?' Can you tell us how he died, where, and why? — Mohamed Salah (@MoSalah) August 9, 2025 Uefa have not yet provided said detail. Here is the truth Uefa did not speak: according to the Palestinian Football Association, Suleiman al-Obeid was killed when Israeli forces attacked civilians in Southern Gaza waiting for humanitarian aid. Advertisement Uefa did at least speak the name of Suleiman al-Obeid. Fifa have yet to say anything about his death. Since al-Obeid's death became public knowledge on Thursday, the tireless social media user Gianni Infantino has posted highlight reels of Jude Bellingham and Ilkay Gundogan; a thank you to Fifa for facilitating the playing of the game among children worldwide given 'football is joy'; footage of himself at the 2024 Olympic Games; amplified Fifa's opening of volunteer applications for the 2026 World Cup and sent birthday wishes to his good friends, Javier Zanetti, Ivan Cordoba, and Max Allegri. He and Fifa have said nothing about the death of Suleiman al-Obeid. The Fifa president appears to believe his murder is of less general interest to his 3.3 million followers than the fact Max Allegri has just turned 58. And so Salah has performed a great service in drawing attention to the silence and obfuscation of football's governing bodies on what is happening in Gaza. One of football's great strengths is the ability to provide support and empathy at times of tragedy; even at a global level, the game will corral around those who have lost and suffered the most. Salah has seen this most recently with the many moving tributes paid to Diogo Jota and Andre Silva. While this is an uncomfortable comparison to make – Jota and Andre Silva deserve more than to be made part of someone else's argument – it is nonetheless an obvious fact: football's governing bodies have not granted the murdered footballers in Palestine the same dignity and respect they have rightly given to Diogo Jota and Andre Silva. On 23 July, prior to the death of Suleiman al-Obeid, the Palestinian Football Association posted online that their football community had thus far suffered 420 deaths, 103 of whom were children. The total death toll is now in excess of 63,000 people, and the United Nations say the whole of Gaza are at risk of famine. The non-recognition of Suleiman al-Obeid and his compatriot footballers is of a piece with Fifa and Uefa's lack of action on the broader situation. The Palestinian FA stood before Fifa congress in May 2024 and asked for the Israeli FA to be sanctioned and banned from international competition, citing discrimination and the fact the Israeli FA have routinely sanctioned football matches on occupied Palestinian territory. More than a year on, Fifa have not yet come to a decision. In October the governing body announced they would look into the the Palestinian claims, and delegated the matter to their Disciplinary and Audit and Governance Committees. At the 2025 Congress in May of this year, the Fifa general-secretary said there was still not yet any decision made, with the committees 'diligently' continuing their 'highly complex' work. (The Congress started three hours late, by the way, as Infantino was delayed returning from the Middle East, where he was visiting the leaders of Saudi Arabia and Qatar along with Donald Trump.) The pace of Fifa's work here would be easier to respect had they not taken only four days to kick Russia out of competition after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Meanwhile, Uefa general secretary Theodore Theodoridis said last year that the European governing body have no intention of banning Israel as they did Russia. 'They are two completely different situations between the two countries', he said. 'Don't forget the start of the war, you mentioned Ukraine, and the start of what is happening now, which is regrettable now, in the Middle East.' Uefa are right that the wars began for different reasons, and Fifa are right that some elements of the entire situation are 'highly complex.' But at some point these intellectual justifications for inaction must be made subordinate to the urgency of the horror we see unfolding before our eyes on a daily basis; horrors like the murder of Suleiman al-Obeid, shot dead while seeking humanitarian aid. The world and its history and its politics are all very complex things but this endless slew of dismembered bodies, flattened landscapes and famished children are not complex. They are a moral outrage on a scale scarcely seen since the second world war. Thus by he values Fifa and Uefa espouse and the concrete precedent they set in the ostracising of Russia and Belarus, both governing bodies should immediately ban Israel and their club teams from their competitions. This would send a powerful message: we have stood for this too long, but we will no stand for it no longer. Do not argue a sporting boycott would have no impact: if international sport had no impact on a country's self-projection, then it would not garner remotely the level of money and attention it does. The subtext of a decision to ban Russia and not Israel is that the latter's political actions are in some way more legitimate. They are not legitimate. They are genocidal. You can have sympathy for the notion that sports bodies should not be expected to lead where political bodies do not while acknowledging that is not sufficient reason alone to absolve Uefa and Fifa of their inaction when it comes to Israel. It's time for Uefa and Fifa to stop simply standing by because, as a great man has written, there is no such thing as innocent bystanding.
Roya News
5 days ago
- Sport
- Roya News
UEFA displays 'stop killing children' banner in Super Cup final with no mention of Gaza
A banner displayed by UEFA ahead of Wednesday's Super Cup final between Paris Saint-Germain and Tottenham Hotspur has highlighted the European football governing body's complex relationship with political messaging in sports. Before kickoff at the Stadio Friuli in Udine, Italy, a large banner was placed on the pitch that read, "Stop killing children. Stop killing civilians". The message was held by nine children who are refugees in Italy from various conflict zones, including Afghanistan, Iraq, Nigeria, Palestine, and Ukraine, as part of a UEFA Foundation for Children initiative. UEFA amplified the message on its official social media, stating, "From the UEFA Super Cup in Udine, the message is loud and clear". From the UEFA Super Cup in Udine, the message is loud and clear. A banner. A call. — UEFA (@UEFA) August 13, 2025 The banner received much criticism on social media, as UEFA kept the message ambiguous with no mention of 'Israel', Gaza, and Palestine. The sanctioned display comes just weeks after UEFA took disciplinary action against Paris Saint-Germain for fan-led political expression. At the Champions League final on May 31, PSG supporters unfurled a banner that read, 'Stop genocide in Gaza'. On July 31, UEFA fined PSG €10,000 for displaying an 'offensive message' and 'bringing UEFA into disrepute'. This fine was part of a total of nearly €150,000 in penalties for various fan misconducts at the final. The Super Cup banner also follows public criticism directed at UEFA just days earlier. The organization had posted a tribute to Suleiman Al-Obeid, a former Palestinian footballer killed in Gaza, referring to him as the 'Palestinian Pelé'. High-profile figures, including Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah and former BBC presenter Gary Lineker, publicly challenged UEFA, with many of the thousands of comments questioning why the tribute omitted details about the circumstances of his death. Al-Obeid, a husband and father of five, was killed by 'Israel' while waiting for humanitarian aid in the southern Gaza Strip.
Saudi Gazette
10-08-2025
- Politics
- Saudi Gazette
Mohamed Salah calls out UEFA for omitting Gaza death details in tribute to Suleiman al-Obeid
LONDON — Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah has criticised UEFA for omitting key details in its tribute to Palestinian football legend Suleiman al-Obeid, who was killed this week in Gaza. On Thursday, the Palestinian Football Association (PFA) confirmed that Obeid, 41, was killed in an Israeli attack while waiting for humanitarian aid in the southern Gaza Strip. Nicknamed the 'Pelé of Palestinian football,' Obeid scored more than 100 goals in his career, including two in 24 international appearances. In a post on X on Friday, UEFA wrote: 'Farewell to Suleiman al-Obeid, the 'Palestinian Pelé'. A talent who gave hope to countless children, even in the darkest of times.' Responding on Saturday, Salah, 33, called out the governing body for failing to mention the circumstances of Obeid's death. 'Can you tell us how he died, where, and why?' the Egypt international wrote. Israel launched its military offensive in Gaza after the Hamas-led attacks on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage. Since then, more than 61,300 people have been killed in Gaza, according to local health Hamas-run health ministry said at least 38 people had been killed and 491 injured in the past 24 hours UN reported earlier this month that at least 1,373 Palestinians have died seeking food since late May, when the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation — a US- and Israeli-backed organisation — began operating aid distribution has previously used his platform to urge for humanitarian aid access to Gaza and called on 'world leaders to come together to prevent further slaughter of innocent souls' amid the ongoing conflict. — BBC
Irish Examiner
09-08-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Mo Salah criticises Uefa over tribute to ‘Palestinian Pelé'
Mohamed Salah has criticised Uefa for failing to state how a footballer known as the Palestinian Pelé died in a tribute it posted. Suleiman al-Obeid, 41, was killed on Wednesday in southern Gaza when Israeli forces attacked civilians waiting for humanitarian aid, the Palestine Football Association (PFA) said. ''Farewell to Suleiman al-Obeid, the 'Palestinian Pelé', Uefa posted on X on Friday. ''A talent who gave hope to countless children, even in the darkest of times.'' Salah replied to Uefa's post on Saturday, saying: 'Can you tell us how he died, where, and why?' The Liverpool player and Egypt star has consistently voiced sympathy for those in Gaza throughout the conflict. Two years ago, he donated to the Egyptian Red Cross to help fund its relief efforts in the region. Can you tell us how he died, where, and why? — Mohamed Salah (@MoSalah) August 9, 2025 A fixture in the Palestinian national side after his debut in 2007, Obeid gained 24 caps and scored twice, the PFA said last week, most memorably with a scissor-kick against Yemen during the 2010 West Asian Football Federation championship. ''During his long career, al-Obeid, 41, scored more than 100 goals, making him one of the brightest stars of Palestinian football,' it said. His talent on the pitch earned him the nickname of 'the Palestinian Pelé' – a nod to the legendary Brazilian widely hailed as one of the greatest players of all time. Obeid's death added to a growing toll of athletes lost in Gaza since the war began, with at least 662 sportspeople and their relatives reported to have been killed. 'The number of footballers killed or who died from starvation has reached 421, including 103 children,' the PFA said. According to the PFA, 288 sports facilities have been damaged or reduced to rubble across Gaza and the West Bank, from stadiums and training grounds to gyms and clubhouses. The vast majority, 268, were in Gaza, while 20 were in the West Bank, with about half serving football directly. Among the sites hit was the PFA's headquarters in Gaza, struck during an Israeli air raid. More than 1,300 Palestinians are reported to have been killed in the vicinity of aid distribution points managed by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation since the US and Israeli-backed logistic group's launch in late May. Guardian
