Football fans’ fury at FA’s lack of support
ENGLISH football’s silence in the face of the slaughter of innocent Israelis has enraged Jewish supporter groups.
Arsenal group Jewish Gooners released a statement yesterday in which they questioned why the atrocity in Israel is being ignored by authorities who have been quick to ‘promote causes they care about’.
They said they felt abandoned by the game they love, adding the lack of action showed they ‘are not part of this so-called family’.
Mail Sport revealed on Monday that the Football Association was holding talks over whether to show solidarity by illuminating the Wembley Stadium arch in the blue and white of Israel’s flag at tomorrow’s England-Australia friendly. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has backed the idea.
The FA said it will discuss the move, against concerns over a possible backlash from pro-Palestinian groups.
Last year, the arch was turned blue and yellow in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and last November it was also illuminated in rainbow colours in support of the LGBTQ+ community during the men’s football World Cup in Qatar.
Jewish Gooners said yesterday: ‘Five days after 1,200 Jews were killed in possibly the worst terrorist atrocity perpetrated in the West since the Holocaust, there has still not been a single word from the world of football. Not from the authorities, not from the clubs, not from the overwhelming majority of players, not from the broadcasts and not from the pundits.
‘It is not complicated. It is not complex. The murder, rape, abduction, decapitation of innocent men, women and children needs no context. It is not necessary, at this moment, to find a balance or another side.
‘By failing even to acknowledge what has occurred, the football world has demonstrated one thing loud and clear. That Jewish and Israeli lives and deaths are not equal to those of others. That Jewish fans and the people of Israel are not part of this so- called family. In the grand scheme of things, a minute’s silence before a football match or a stadium washed in blue and white is irrelevant.’
The Watford Jewish Supporters Group said they ‘mourn the innocent victims in Israel’, adding: ‘We call on the football community to condemn Hamas, as well as the anti-Semitism we’ve seen unfold . . . here in the UK.’
And the Chelsea Jewish Supporters Group said: ‘We are disappointed with the silence within the wider football community and urge football leaders to speak out against terrorism and hatred.’