Europe’s pro-Palestine football crackdown fails to deter solidarity protests

In late October, a large swell of Scottish football fans supporting Celtic, passionately waved numerous Palestinian flags during the Glaswegian club’s Champions League match against Spanish team, Atletico Madrid at Celtic Park. The passionate Celtic ultras fan-group, called the Green Brigade formed in 2006, are well renowned for aligning with different progressive issues, including the Palestinian cause.

However, in the leadup to the game, Celtic had pushed for the Green Brigade not to display their Palestinian solidarity. The club had already banned the group from its away games. The Green Brigade has accused Celtic's board of "attempting to censor and sanction Palestinian solidarity."

Amid the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza, analysts describe a trend of widespread pro-Palestinian solidarity across the footballing world that faces strong opposition.

“The international solidarity among football fans for those suffering in Gaza has been tremendous. Football fans have always recognised and protested (against) injustice, so the pushback from authorities has been very disappointing to see,” Waqas Tufail, Reader in Criminology at Leeds Beckett University tells TRT World.

At least 10,569 Palestinians, many of them children, have been killed amid a barrage of Israeli airstrikes on Gaza since the October 7 Hamas attack killed close to 1,600 Israelis. During Liverpool's recent derby game against city arch-rivals Everton, Palestinian flags were on display. In late October, the Premier League banned the display of both the Palestinian and Israeli flags for the weekend fixtures. The organisation is understood to have instructed Premier League clubs to prohibit Israel and Palestine flags inside stadia.

Recently at Liverpool’s Anfield stadium, social media footage shows one fan being asked to “lower this (Palestinian) flag, because the club is not politically sided either way.” The fan responds that “it was ok when it was Ukraine!”.

In March 2022, amid the Russia-Ukraine War, former Liverpool captain and England international footballer, Jordan Henderson said he understood why West Ham United F.C. had given Ukrainian footballer Andriy Yarmolenko compassionate leave. In a press-release Henderson said the Premier League as a whole backed Ukraine.

Similar Ukrainian support has been on display at the highest level of English football.

In February 2022, the UK’s governing body, the Football Association (FA) shared two tweets in solidarity with Ukraine. They showed the iconic Wembley stadium lit in blue and yellow - with words, “we stand with Ukraine.”

But critics say the FA has been selective in aligning with different causes.

“In trying to clamp down on protests in support of Palestine, football authorities through their actions are politicising football – it cannot be right that they pick and choose which protests are valid and which are not,” Tufail says.

Western pushback to footballers supporting Palestine

Pro-Palestinian footballers in other parts of Western Europe have faced strong pushback.

In early November, Germany club Mainz 05 terminated the contract of footballer Anwar El Ghazi over his pro-Palestine social media post. The 28 year-old Dutchman who previously enjoyed a notable spell at Premier League club, Aston Villa was initially warned and suspended in October.

Other prominent footballers like Noussair Mazraoui, who plays for German powerhouses, Bayern Munich have faced tough pushback for expressing pro-Palestinian solidarity on social media. Johannes Steiniger, a Christian Democratic Union (CDU) politician, pushed the Bavarian club and Germany to expel the Morocco international from the country.

Amid the backlash, Bayern Munich CEO, Dreesen described Mazraoui "a peace-loving person". The club said they stand by Germany's Jewish community and at Israel's side, but nothing justifies the murder of children and families in Palestine's Gaza.

In October, former Real Madrid player Karim Benzema offered his "prayers" to Palestinians in Gaza over what he said were the "unjust bombings which spare no women or children". He later faced calls for his 2022 Ballon d'Or award and French nationality to be rescinded over claims of alleged connections to the Muslim Brotherhood by Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin.

Valerie Boyer, a Senator for Bouches-du-Rhone, said she would request "the forfeiture of Karim Benzema's (French) nationality," if the claims were proven. Benzema's lawyer offered a strong rebuke and said he would file a complaint.

A spokesperson from Muslimah Sports Association, a UK non-profit offering women a safe and positive environment to engage in sports while safeguarding religious and cultural beliefs, describes it as "disappointing" that footballers are expected to apologise for showing solidarity with Palestinians.

The representative says the organisation is strictly non-political, but the Israel-Palestine situation is directly impacting Muslim communities worldwide while levelling some criticism at the UK’s domestic media.

"I think the UK media has a lot to answer for in terms of how they report the issues going on with the conflict and it’s very biassed, " the spokesperson tells TRT World, labelling it “a Western point of view. "

UK doubling down on pro-Palestinian footballers

Amid what critics say is the continued stifling of pro-Palestinian support in football, they say UK authorities appear to be doubling down.

“The response to footballers showing solidarity with Palestine has been nothing short of disgraceful and the height of hypocrisy,” according to Tufail.

The FA said footballers will face legal action over social media posts using the Pro-Palestine slogan "River to the sea." The popular chant refers to an area between the River Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea - encompassing Israel, the occupied West Bank and the blockaded Gaza.

“After careful consideration, we will be writing to all clubs to make it clear that this phrase is considered offensive to many, and should not be used by players in social media posts,” said the FA, who will seek “police guidance” on the matter if it is used again.

It followed a now-deleted post by Leicester City player Hamza Choudhury who plays in the UK's second-tier of football, the Championship. The player of Bangladeshi-Grenadian origin used the slogan and later apologised over any "offence."

Double standards and institutional islamophobia

Tufail says other footballers showing solidarity with Ukraine and Israel have not faced any sanctions in response to their political statements.

“This double standard highlights institutional anti-Palestinian racism and represent clear examples of institutional Islamophobia within football,” according to Tufail.

He underscores the example of Ukrainian captain and Arsenal footballer Oleksandr Zinchenko who has been extremely vocal on Ukraine and recently posted on social media that he ‘stands with Israel’.

Zinchenko removed the post and made his account private in the wake of online backlash.

“The FA cannot punish footballers making pro-Palestine statements whilst doing nothing to sanction Oleksandr Zinchenko – this would rightly open the organisation up to accusations of double standards and racism,” Tufail says.

He says the FA’s selective approach to clamping down on political symbols and protests is stark.

“The most obvious comparison is with Ukraine – those in support of Palestinian rights calling for a ceasefire in Gaza have to be approached with the same standards as those calling for an end to the bombing in Ukraine,” says Tufail.

To avoid being accused of racism, he says the FA needs to apply clear and consistent rules regarding the right to protests within football stadia that does not appear to be the case at present.

The spokesperson says more education within the FA alongside open conversations are needed.

Akin to England's national football stadium, Wembley, turning yellow and blue in solidarity with Ukraine in February 2022, the spokesperson says in recent weeks the idea of turning Wembley blue and white was allegedly floated. However, the proposal was purportedly met with strong backlash by members of the Muslim community who after forging close ties with the FA over the years, would see such relations "destroyed."

"So they (the FA) had to rethink it. They were challenged. And in the past they haven't been challenged. So they need re-educating within their own organisation," says the spokesperson.

Critics have hit out at the UK's home secretary Suella Braverman. The Conservative politician labelled pro-Palestinian marches as "hate marches" and stands accused of stifling Palestinian voices.

This weekend on Armistice Day, football ultras and different far-right groups are expected to gather in central London to oppose the pro-Palestine march.

"She's (Braverman) given the far-right people that confidence to come out and show racism and have Islamophobia or anti-Semitism. It's giving them that power. She's igniting it even more," says the spokesperson.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunk called an upcoming pro-Palestinian demonstration on Armistice Day “provocative and disrespectful.”

Nevertheless, London has observed large-scale pro-Palestinian marches in recent weeks, despite the pushback from authorities in the UK.

According to Tufail, the bids to silence and marginalise Palestine solidarity within football are not unrelated to the attempts to silence and marginalise Palestine solidarity in society in general.

“Unfortunately we have seen schools, colleges and universities and a variety of workplace settings engage in practices that attempt to dissuade or even shut down Palestine solidarity protests. But the massive solidarity for Palestine, demonstrated at many high profile football matches, demonstrates that those efforts will not deter those calling for a ceasefire and for an end to the occupation of Gaza.”