Israeli minister accuses Lamine Yamal of ‘fomenting hatred’ for waving Palestinian flag during Barça’s celebrations

Israel Katz accused the teenage winger of ‘fomenting hatred’ after images emerged of the 18-year-old displaying the flag during Barcelona’s open-top bus parade through the Catalan capital on Monday.

Barça had defeated Real Madrid 2-0 on Sunday at Camp Nou and clinched its second consecutive league title and the club’s 29th. The Catalan club earned an insurmountable 14-point lead over second-placed Madrid with three matches remaining. ALSO READ: Barcelona seal back-to-back La Liga titles with 2-0 clásico win over Real Madrid.

‘Lamine Yamal chose to incite against Israel and foment hatred while our soldiers are fighting the terrorist organisation Hamas, an organisation that massacred, raped and burned Jewish children, women and the elderly on 7 October (2023),’ Katz wrote on X (see below) on Thursday.

His social media post continued: ‘Whoever supports this type of message should ask themselves: Does he consider this humanitarian? Is this moral? As the Minister of Defense of the State of Israel, I will not remain silent in the face of incitement against Israel and against the Jewish people. I expect a great and respected club like FC Barcelona to distance itself from these statements and make it unequivocally clear that there is no place for incitement or for support of terrorism.’

Yamal, who is Muslim, was seen holding a large Palestinian flag as hundreds of thousands of supporters lined the streets to celebrate Barcelona’s La Liga triumph secured the previous day. Local officials estimated that around 750,000 people attended the festivities. ALSO READ: Barça star Lamine Yamal under scrutiny for having ‘dwarf entertainers’ at 18th party.

The Spain international later shared photographs of himself with the flag on Instagram. ALSO READ: Police probe Islamophobic chants as Spain–Egypt friendly sparks outrage.

Late on Thursday, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez posted on social media platform X in support of Yamal with the following message: 

‘Those who consider waving the flag of a State to be ‘inciting hatred’ have either lost their judgment or been blinded by their own ignominy. Lamine has only expressed the solidarity with Palestine felt by millions of Spaniards. Another reason to be proud of him.’

Spain’s government and much of the country’s public opinion have been strongly critical of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, launched in response to the Hamas attacks of October 2023, which killed around 1,200 people in Israel. ALSO READ: Spain urges EU to suspend Israel agreement, but bloc remains divided.

The war has also triggered widespread international criticism over the humanitarian impact in Gaza, where tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed. ALSO READ: Felipe VI denounces ‘unspeakable suffering’ and ‘total devastation’ of Gaza.

The conflict has increasingly spilled over into the sporting and cultural worlds, with protests taking place at football, basketball and cycling events. ALSO READ: Dozens of artists skip Barcelona’s Sónar festival in support of Palestinians.

During last year’s Vuelta a España cycling race, demonstrations repeatedly targeted the participation of an Israeli-backed team. ALSO READ: 11th stage of Spain’s ‘La Vuelta’ cut short due to pro-Palestinian protesters.

Spain is also among five countries boycotting this year’s Eurovision Song Contest in protest at Israel’s participation. ALSO READ: Spain joins Ireland and Slovenia in boycotting Eurovision TV broadcast over Israel’s participation.

Yamal is expected to play a key role for Spain’s national football team at next month’s World Cup in North America. ALSO READ: Lamine Yamal, aged 16, makes history at Euro 2024: ‘I only ask to win, win, win.’