Palestinian goalkeeper Saleem al-Ashqar was killed earlier this week by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian Football Association (PFA) said in a statement on Monday, prompting tributes from football supporters, journalists, fans, and the public on social media.
The PFA said the 32-year-old was killed by Israeli army fire. With Ashqar’s death, the association said the number of Palestinian sports figures killed since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza has risen to 1,009, including 567 members of the Palestinian football community. It added that Ashqar had married just five months ago and was expecting his first child with his wife.
A relative of Ashqar told Wafa that the goalkeeper was returning home from work when Israeli forces opened fire on unarmed civilians northeast of Hamad City, striking him in the chest. The relative described him as “one of the finest young men” in the community.
News of his death quickly spread online, prompting many to question Fifa’s continued refusal to suspend Israel.
Tributes pour in
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Chilean football club Deportivo Palestino was among the first to pay tribute to Ashqar. In a post on X, the club said it “deeply regretted” the death of the 32-year-old goalkeeper, adding that it was “heartbreaking” that such incidents continued to occur while calling for “justice and peace”.
Turkish Minister of Youth and Sports Osman Aşkın Bak also paid tribute to Ashqar in a post on X, offering his condolences and describing the goalkeeper as having been killed by “murderous Israeli forces”.
Bak contrasted the 572 footballers competing in the Fifa Club World Cup to the 567 Palestinian footballers killed since October 2023, adding: “Sometimes numbers tell a great deal. This is one of them.”
Fifa faces renewed criticism
Ashqar’s death also reignited criticism of football’s governing bodies, with many questioning Fifa’s continued refusal to suspend Israel, particularly amid the ongoing World Cup matches.
Spanish-Moroccan sports journalist Leyla Hamed wrote on X that Fifa has suspended football federations “almost every week” but had repeatedly delayed a decision on Israel despite meeting several times to discuss the issue. “How much investigation does the most documented genocide in history need?” she asked.
Former Irish MEP Mick Wallace also criticised Fifa in a post on X, saying the organisation had become “so rotten” that it served “the interests of Western imperialism and the brutal Zionist settler colonial project”. He called on influential voices in football to speak out and argued that the sport needed “a new governing body”.
Journalist Hassan Mafi linked Ashqar’s death to Palestinian football more broadly, writing on X: “The reason Palestine doesn’t qualify for the World Cup is because Zionists have killed all of their players.”
Writer Jakob Reimann also questioned Fifa’s inaction, noting that Ashqar had been killed while his wife was expecting their first child.
A person on social media questioned Fifa’s stance, writing: “So FIFA can bar Russia from the tournament but somehow let such heinous acts pass by”, while arguing that Israel had still not been suspended from international football.
Spanish journalist Fonsi Loaiza highlighted the timing of Ashqar’s death, describing him as a professional First Division goalkeeper in Palestine who was killed while the World Cup was taking place.
