Following on from comments by Karim Benzema regarding the conflict between Israel and terrorist group Hamas, several footballers have found themselves in hot water over their comments on the matter.
Benzema spoke out in support for Palestinians who were being injured or killed in the conflict. This remarkably led to the Interior Minister for France accusing Benzema of belonging to a terrorist group.
He is not the only player to have run into trouble. Nice defender Youcef Atal has been suspended by OGC Nice, and is under investigation for sympathising with terrorists in France. He reportedly posted on his Instagram calling for violence against Jewish people, as per Diario AS, which he has since deleted.
Meanwhile Mainz and former Aston Villa Anwar El Ghazi has also been suspended for an Instagram post, and ‘adopting a stance on the conflict in the Middle East that does not reflect the values of the club’. Elsewhere in Germany, Noussair El Mazraoui is set to be spoken to by Bayern Munich over his comments on the matter, after calling a Morocco victory a ‘victory for Palestine’ – a German representative had asked for El Mazraoui to be expelled from the country.
🚨 Manor Solomon on his instagram story. 🇮🇱
(Source: ig/manorsolomon) pic.twitter.com/BxVEdunQJK
— Transfer News Live (@DeadlineDayLive) October 18, 2023
Israeli Tottenham winger Manor Salomon has also attracted ire too. He shared a post from an Israeli news site of a rocket hitting a hospital in Palestine, which reportedly claimed over 500 lives, with the caption ‘Killing their own people and blaming Israel’, referring to unverified reports that it was an errant rocket from Hamas militia. More reliable news sources have reported that it was an Israeli air strike.
Mesut Ozil and Arda Turan have also raised their voice against the Israeli violence for killing innocent Palestinians, although are not thought to be facing any consequences.
