Israeli media outlets on Monday criticised Lamine Yamal, the Spanish football star of FC Barcelona, after he waved a Palestinian flag while celebrating his team’s Spanish league title victory.
Yamal, 18, drew widespread attention during the team’s open-top bus parade through the Catalan city, where he was seen waving the Palestinian flag in scenes that sparked wide interaction among fans and on social media.
The celebrations followed Barcelona’s 2-0 win over Real Madrid on Sunday.
Commenting on the incident, Israel’s Channel 12 said Yamal had “used the football occasion to express his political position”, adding that while Barcelona players celebrated wearing club scarves, Yamal celebrated with the Palestinian flag “in contrast to the rest of his teammates”.
Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth also said this was not the first time the Catalan star had expressed political views.
The newspaper referred to comments Yamal made after last month’s match between the Egypt and Spain national teams, which ended in a goalless draw, when fans chanted: “whoever’s not jumping is Muslim.”
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