Liverpool star Mohamed Salah has publicly criticised the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for a tribute posted to “Palestinian Pele” Suleiman al-Obeid, which omitted the fact that he died in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza. Salah’s call for honesty sparked a wave of support from prominent voices in sports and activism.
Sports analyst Naazeem Adam said, “Mo Salah, Egyptian and Liverpool superstar, criticised UEFA for sanitising what actually happened. He asked UEFA to be clear about how Suleiman died instead of posting a vague tribute.”
The statement resonated widely. Francesca Albanese, a human rights advocate, called for the expulsion of Israel from all sporting competitions. Former England captain and pundit Gary Lineker also criticised UEFA’s silence after Salah’s post.
Adam noted the growing pressure on athletes and sports organisations to speak out. “PSG was recently fined 10,000 euros for displaying a banner demanding an end to the genocide. Ordinary people worldwide are also raising their voices, like the nearly 250,000 who gathered at Sydney Harbour Bridge last week.”
He added, “We need to break the political control Israel has over global powers and support the sports boycott campaign. Just like the campaign isolated apartheid South Africa, we must make sports free of apartheid and genocide, one ball, one kick at a time.”
Adam warned of Israeli athletes competing internationally, some of whom serve in the military occupation forces, urging South Africa to ban their participation: “We must make it impossible for them to compete on our soil or anywhere else.”
Listen to the full interview below:
VOC News
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