Israel-Hamas conflict: Protests, solidarity and matches cancelled amid growing violence

The ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas began on 7 October when a coordinated surprise attack started with over 5,000 rockets being launched from the Hamas-controlled Gaza strip. At the same time, Palestinian militants breached the border with Israel and killed civilians. The attack went after Israeli rural population and 260 people were killed at a music concert.

In retaliation, Israel launched defensive strikes before announcing war a day later. In days of attacks that have followed, including bombing of Al-Ahli Arabi Baptist Hospital in Gaza city, the casualty count on both sides has crossed 2,500 people with countless displaced, injured and affected.

The brutal war and conflict in the Middle East has also led to reactions from the sporting world.

Pakistan cricketer Rizwan dedicates win to ‘brothers and sisters in Gaza’

Pakistan batter Mohammad Rizwan dedicated his team’s World Cup victory against Sri Lanka to “our brothers and sisters in Gaza”.

This was for our brothers and sisters in Gaza. 🤲🏼

Happy to contribute in the win. Credits to the whole team and especially Abdullah Shafique and Hassan Ali for making it easier.

Extremely grateful to the people of Hyderabad for the amazing hospitality and support throughout.

— Muhammad Rizwan (@iMRizwanPak) October 11, 2023

“This was for our brothers and sisters in Gaza. Happy to contribute in the win,” Rizwan, 31, said on X, formerly known as Twitter.

However, Rizwan drew criticism for his views.

Shouldn’t @iMRizwanPak have dedicated his match winning inning to ALL non combatants who have died in Gaza AND Israel? Humanity first and above else. 🙏

— Rajdeep Sardesai (@sardesairajdeep) October 11, 2023

“Shouldn’t @iMRizwanPak have dedicated his match winning innings to ALL non combatants who have died in Gaza AND Israel? Humanity first and above else,” wrote Indian journalist Rajdeep Sardesai.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has previously ruled against players making political statements although away from the field, they are free to use their own media platforms.

UEFA postpones Israel matches due to conflict

Mourners gather around the five coffins of the Kotz family during their funeral in Gan Yavne, Israel. AP

UEFA rescheduled Israel’s Euro 2024 qualifiers against Switzerland and Kosovo due to the conflict.

“Israeli authorities currently do not allow their national team to travel abroad,” UEFA, European football’s governing body, said in a statement.

“A new date for the fixture (vs Kosovo) will be announced in due course.”

UEFA had already postponed “all matches scheduled” in Israel “in the next couple of weeks”.

The fixture against Switzerland has been pencilled in for November 15 with the venue still to be determined.

Israel’s European Under-21 Championship matches have also been postponed along with an Under-17 mini-tournament in which Israel was due to take part.

Palestine football team quits football tournament

The Palestine football team has pulled out of a tournament in Malaysia, the Southeast Asian nation’s football association said.

“The Palestinian team had to withdraw from participating… because they could not fly to Kuala Lumpur due to the tense situation… at the moment,” the Malaysian football association said in a statement.

The team was due to play in the Merdeka Cup friendly tournament in Kuala Lumpur but the opening match against Tajikistan has been cancelled.

The cup, which runs until October 17, will now feature only three teams with Tajikistan, who will get a bye to the final, joined by Malaysia and India.

Algeria to host Palestinian football team’s matches

With Israel’s Euro 2024 qualifying fixtures pushed, Algeria have stepped in to host matches involving the Palestinian football team.

Algeria has agreed to stage “all official and non-official matches involving the Palestinian team’s preparation for qualification to the 2026 World Cup and 2027 Asian Cup and to assume all associated costs,” an Algerian football federation statement announced.

The move came after a request to the Algerian authorities by Jibril Rajoub, the head of the Palestinian football federation.

The first of these games comes next month when Palestine play Australia in Algeria on November 21 in a 2026 World Cup qualifier.

Minute’s silence in international football

Sweden and Belgium players observe silence to honour those who passed away in the violence in the Middle East. AP

Various Euro 2024 qualifying matches observed silence before start. Before England vs Australia at Wembley, complete silence was observed despite fears of protests.

English FA resisted call to light the Wembley arch in colours of Israel following the devastating attack by Hammas. The Football Association instead pushed for a tribute to “remember the innocent victims of the devastating events in Israel and Palestine”.

“Tonight we remember the innocent victims of the devastating events in Israel and Palestine,” read a message on the giant screen. “Our thoughts are with them, and their families and friends in England and Australia and with all the communities who are affected by this ongoing conflict. Tonight we stand for humanity and an end to death, violence, fear and suffering.”

More periods of silence were observed on 17 October to honour the victims of deaths in Israel, Palestine and Brussels where a gunman killed two Sweden football supporters.

Nice suspend defender Youcef Atal for alleged anti-Semitic post

🚨 OGC Nice have suspended Youcef Atal until further notice after a social media post regarding the ongoing situation in Gaza.

Mainz suspended Anwar El Ghazi on Tuesday. pic.twitter.com/H5Jf4hNzJj

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) October 18, 2023

French football club Nice suspended Algerian international Youcef Atal “until further notice” on 18 October after he shared a controversial post on social media linked to the conflict.

Even though he quickly deleted the post and apologised, the club said in a press release that, given the “seriousness” of the post, it was taking immediate disciplinary action “prior to any action that may be taken by the sporting and legal authorities”.

French prosecutors have launched a preliminary investigation into Atal on suspicion of “glorifying terrorism”.

Atal, 27, was called into a meeting with the club hierarchy following his return from international duty with Algeria, during which period he made the post.

Can Tottenham FC suspend Manor Solomon, after this post, as Nice and Mainz did with Youcef Atal and Anwar El Ghazi?

Of course not. This apply only to those who disagree with them, to those who support the truth and refuse to kill innocent people #Gazagenocide pic.twitter.com/CrIQdU2ZY5

— Mahmoud Diaa (@MahmoudDiaaaa) October 18, 2023

“We would like to emphasise that the reputation and unity of OGC Nice depends on the behaviour of all of its employees, who must be in accordance with the values defended by the institution,” said the club, adding its “firm commitment to ensuring that peace prevails over all other considerations”.

Atal has been widely criticised for reportedly sharing a video from a Palestinian preacher on Instagram, purportedly calling for violence against Jewish people.

Football officials, politicians, a Jewish group and the mayor of Nice have all condemned the message, which Atal deleted before apologising.

The French prosecutors said police would assess if the post amounted to incitement to religious hatred or violence.

The South East branch of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France (CRIF) filed a complaint against the player.

Atal responded to the criticism, telling his Instagram followers he would “never support a message of hate”, without explaining why he had shared the video.

Mainz suspend Anwar El Ghazi for ‘unacceptable’ post

🚨 Anwar El Ghazi has been released by Bundesliga side Mainz for posting a pro-Palestinian Instagram story. pic.twitter.com/yKz5fyQisx

— Chris Wheatley (@ChrisWheatley) October 17, 2023

German football club Mainz said they had suspended player Anwar El Ghazi after the winger made an “unacceptable” comment on social media.

“El Ghazi took a position on the ongoing conflict in the Middle East that was deemed unacceptable,” the Bundesliga club said in a statement.

Dutch international El Ghazi made the comments in a since-deleted post on social media.

“Prior to making this decision, the club and the player had engaged in an in-depth discussion.”

Mainz said they respected that there were “varying perspectives on the decades-long, complex conflict”.

The club were however “distancing themselves from the content of the social media post”, which did not “align with the values of the club”.

Mainz did not clarify how long the suspension could last.

Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich’s Noussair Mazraoui is also in the headlines for his comments on the war. In a social media post, the Moroccan international wished victory for the Palestinians.

The remark was “unspeakable”, the Central Council of Jews in Germany said in German daily Augsburger Allgemeine.

“We recognise that he (Mazraoui) subsequently distanced himself from all terrorist organisations. Unfortunately, Mazraoui continues to fail to clearly condemn Hamas’s barbarism,” it said.

Sofia to replace Tel Aviv on tennis calendar

Sofia will host an ATP event in early November, replacing the Tel Aviv Open, the Bulgarian tennis federation said. The Tel Aviv event was cancelled due to violence in the region.

“Sofia Open 2023 will be held from November 4 to 11… The Bulgarian Tennis Federation won the right to organise the competition, which was supposed to take place in Tel Aviv, but was cancelled due to the hostilities in Israel,” the BFT said in a statement.

FIFA, UEFA offer condolence

FIFA President Gianni Infantino wrote to the presidents of the Palestinian and Israeli Football Federations calling for “the immediate end of hostilities”.

Infantino offered “our deepest condolences to the Israel Football Association and the Palestine Football Association in light of the horrendous violence that has been occurring over the past days.”

The letter was sent to Moshe Shino Zuares, head of Israel’s FA and Jibril Rajoub, the president of the Palestinian FA.

“FIFA joins in calling for the immediate end of hostilities and the immediate relief of the suffering of the people of both Israel and Palestine,” Infantino said

Infantino said football can be a “vehicle for peace.”

“It is as heart-breaking as it is shocking to see a region, whose people have known such profound suffering over far too long, suffer even more.

“Of course, we know that football cannot solve the problems of the World, but it can play even a small part in bringing a light of hope where there appears to be only darkness ahead,” Infantino wrote.

On Thursday, Aleksander Ceferin, the president of European governing body UEFA wrote to the Israeli Football Association, a UEFA member.

“My heart goes out to all the victims and their families during these difficult times. It is an unimaginable tragedy, and the pain and sorrow are profound and resonate across the entire football community.”

“I pray for these deep wounds to heal and for a world where such senseless acts of violence have no place.”

(with inputs from AFP)