FIFA and clubs may impose penalties on fans who express solidarity with Palestine, but these fans continue to resist, keeping the conscience of football alive.
Leila Hamed, a journalist and sports law expert, wrote in an article on the New Arab website: The more football authorities try to ignore Palestine, the more visible it becomes. According to Pars Today, football calls itself the beautiful game—one that claims to be global, inclusive, and progressive. Children from the poor neighborhoods of Brazil or the outskirts of Paris, through talent and hard work, can not only change their own lives but also those of their families and communities.
Football boasts more than any other sport that it is the people’s game, one that transcends class barriers and reflects society as a whole. Sometimes it acts as a mirror, other times as an engine for change. The football pitch occasionally becomes a political arena. But when it comes to the issue of Palestine, this reality becomes even more apparent. Clubs that preach justice and equality are quick to silence those who support people who are facing genocide.
The silence of major clubs
In recent months, major clubs have either blocked symbols of solidarity with Palestine or remained silent in the face of fans’ outcries over Israel’s crimes in Palestine and the region.
A few weeks ago, as Israel intensified its attacks on Gaza, Tottenham Hotspur quietly banned dozens of its fans—not for hate speech or insults, but for criticizing the explicit pro-Israeli military statements of their Israeli player, Manor Solomon. These were loyal fans who had stood by the club for years, yet they were cast aside the moment they spoke up for the oppressed.
Tottenham later told the media that the bans were in response to posts related to the conflict in West Asia. Although the club later apologized, the apology felt more like a warning: Supporting Palestine has consequences.
While Tottenham was banning fans, Solomon continued sharing messages in support of the Israeli military—the same military that commits daily war crimes, destroys hospitals, and imposes famine. Yet the club took no action, launched no investigation, and imposed no penalties.
Members of Tottenham’s digital media team had previously expressed support for Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli military on their personal accounts. So when those in charge of the club’s messaging align with Israeli occupation, it’s no surprise that some voices are amplified while others are erased.
Tottenham isn’t the only North London club suppressing public support for Palestine. Arsenal, a club with a progressive history and strong support for minorities, fired Mark Bonic, their 61-year-old kit manager, after he called Israel’s actions in Gaza ‘ethnic cleansing’. Mark, after 20 years of service, sued Arsenal for unfair dismissal.
In contrast, Arsenal player Oleksandr Zinchenko posted a message supporting Israel at the height of Gaza’s bombing. He later deleted the post and made his account private, but the club took no action. Yet when old tweets from one of the founders of Arsenal’s Muslim supporters’ group—criticizing Israel—resurfaced, an investigation was launched against him.
Criticizing Zionism = Losing your job
In Britain, expressing solidarity with Palestinians is dangerous, but supporting the government bombing them is not. It can be treated as a criminal threat and even cost you your job, as happened to Gary Lineker, a national icon.
Earlier this month, reports emerged that the BBC canceled Lineker’s final interview with Mohamed Salah on Match of the Day over fears of a possible mention of Gaza. Soon after, Lineker left the BBC due to breaching social media policies and criticizing Zionism.
Lineker’s show was a refuge for many who acknowledged Palestinian suffering. With its cancellation, the question arose: If even someone as respected as Lineker is sidelined for speaking his mind, what hope does an ordinary fan with a Palestinian keffiyeh have?
According to the Palestinian Football Federation, since October 2023, over 375 Palestinian footballers have been martyred in Gaza. The total number of athletes martyred exceeds 700. All stadiums have been bombed. Youth and national teams, along with their dreams, lie buried under rubble.
Among the wounded is a young football enthusiast and Liverpool fan who lost both legs in an Israeli airstrike on his neighborhood. He once dreamed of following in Mohamed Salah’s footsteps, but now faces a future shaped by amputation. FIFA has paid no tribute, launched no campaign, not even held a minute of silence. No armbands, no memorial gestures—just cold, prolonged silence.
Fans now ask: Is FIFA’s silence deliberate? Ahead of the 2025 Club World Cup, Egyptian player Hussein El Shahat wore a Free Palestine armband, but the images were quickly removed.
This was no accident. Concerns grew when a woman claiming to be FIFA’s social media manager promoted Israel on her personal account during the peak of Israel’s war crimes in Gaza. FIFA has offered no explanation. The removal of El Shahat’s armband seems not careless but part of a policy.
A hollow campaign
Ironically, this individual co-founded Her Game Too, a campaign that claims to champion inclusivity in football. Yet when fans questioned its stance, the campaign blocked them on Twitter instead of responding. It seems silence isn’t just rooted in clubs and federations but also in the very campaigns that claim to fight for justice.
But we, the fans, will not stay silent. From Palestine flags at the Club World Cup to stadiums in Spain like Rayo Vallecano and Sevilla, ordinary people show what true solidarity looks like. The more football authorities try to erase Palestine, the more visible it becomes.
This week, Israeli forces martyred the wife of Abdullah Al-Shaghafi, former goalkeeper of Palestine’s national team, in an attack on Al-Mawasi—a designated safe zone for displaced civilians. There were no military targets, only defenseless tents. His killing was no accident; it was part of Israel’s systematic campaign to destroy Palestinians. Like so many others, his death will be ignored by the football world.
Had this tragedy befallen the family of a player from another country, the entire sports world would have risen in outrage. Broadcasts would pause, pundits would pay tribute, and clubs would issue statements. A sport that claims to stand for justice cannot stay silent in the face of such atrocities. These are not just individual tragedies—they are the erasure of futures, the collapse of communities, the annihilation of a nation. Until football finds the courage to stand for lives like his, all its principles are hollow.