- The athletes have threatened to walk off the pitch ahead of upcoming fixtures if their demand is not met
- Arsenal midfielder Mohamed Elneny has shown his support for Palestine.
As more Palestinian civilians fall in the Israeli war on Gaza, around 30 Muslim and Arab athletes from football, cricket, and rugby have threatened to walk off the pitch ahead of upcoming fixtures if respect is not shown for Palestinians killed in the war.
The report by the Daily Mirror said that the athletes held a meeting on Monday to discuss the ongoing war, asking colleagues to stay off social media if they wouldn’t post fitting tributes to all those who lost their lives.
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The meeting came as FA, the English Football Association, announced plans to light up the Wembley Arch in solidarity with Israel ahead of England’s friendly against Australia on Friday night.
Yet, the BBC later reported that the FA is unlikely to light the Wembley arch in the colors of the Israel flag because of fears of a backlash from some communities.
Double Standards
The FA, Premier League, and Football League were accused of “double standards” in 2019 for not holding tributes for 50 people killed in New Zealand’s mosque attacks, despite doing so after November 2015’s Paris attacks.
A source said: “Over 950 people died in Gaza and 1000 people died in Israel. Every single civilian life is a tragedy and must be mourned. Why would we have a minute’s silence for the Israelis but not the Palestinian people who are also suffering?
“None of the players are against a minute’s silence for the victims of war. Why would we be? But we have a voice and we won’t be silent on this.”
Arsenal midfielder Mohamed Elneny has shown his support for Palestine, changing his profile picture on Instagram to the Palestinian flag.
Elneny’s change on his profile came just days after team-mate Oleksandr Zinchenko decided to restrict his Instagram account from the public after posting that he ‘stands with Israel’.
Since Israel launched war on the Gaza Strip on Saturday, the number of civilian casualties and those displaced in the coastal enclave has dramatically increased.
According to the Palestinian health ministry, more than 1055 Palestinians have been killed and at least 5,100 wounded. Children and senior citizens accounted for almost 60 percent of casualties.