Israel and Hamas terror drama is now influencing football. The FA are now having talks over whether to illuminate the Wembley arch in the colours of Israel’s flag in an international friendly fixture. Wembley is set to host Australia on Friday and it might face concerns over a potential backlash.
The story starts with the projection of the Israeli flag onto 10 Downing Street and City Hall in London. It happened after the government’s support towards Israel as they gave tribute to the people who were killed by terrorists last week. The FA have taken things in their plan when the projection of national flags was done in London in past years.
FA have to make a decision ahead of two big games as England’s final game is against Italy in the Euro 2024 qualifiers. The Same ground will also host the Champions League final next year. The FA’s senior leadership held talks in Nyon for Tuesday’s UEFA Executive Committee meeting. England and Ireland will also be confirmed as the hosts of Euro 2028.
The FA are supposed to discuss with the counterparts at UEFA on Israel situation. They have two games are lined up in England. Some seniors have shown their concerns over taking sides in the Israeli/Palestinian war. They are considering to stage a period of silence for the victims.
FA have been clear on their stance in past years and they have always taken a stand against terrorism. Even last year in the EFL Cup final, the Ukrainian flag was projected all over Wembley Stadium and illuminated the arch. They gave tribute to the people of Ukraine who lost their lives in the Russia-Ukraine war. The same tribute happened when Ukraine played England in a European Championship qualifier this year.
We have seen this in the past too. In 2015, the Wembley Arch was lit up by the red, white and blue of the Tricolore as a tribute to those who lost their lives in the Paris terror attacks. When England met France in a Euro 2016 friendly, players from both sides sang La Marseillaise. Now, the FA have to take a call on how to respond if they see any pro-Hamas activity at Wembley. London is seeing the reports of pro-Palestinian protests over the weekend.
Meanwhile, UEFA has postponed Israel’s games which were scheduled for the next two weeks. An under-17 tournament was also postponed which was supposed to be held in the country.
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