UEFA faces backlash for not naming or condemning the killer of ‘Palestinian Pele’

Press TV Website Staff

Suleiman al-Obeid, the captain of the Palestinian national team, popularly known as ‘Palestinian Pele’, was tragically killed by the Israeli regime forces in the Gaza Strip last week.

He was deliberately targeted and killed in cold blood, like many other Palestinians, while seeking humanitarian aid in southern Gaza amid the ongoing blockade, the Palestinian Football Association (PFA) announced in a statement on Thursday.

‘‘During his long career, al-Obeid, 41, scored more than 100 goals, making him one of the brightest stars of Palestinian football,” said the football association.

“The number of footballers killed or who died from starvation has reached 421, including 103 children.”

Obeid, 41, is survived by his wife and five children.

Obeid’s death has sparked widespread outrage across the world, with people urging the international community and the football fraternity in particular to break their silence over the ongoing genocide.

In a statement, the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) paid tribute to the fallen footballer, which didn’t go well with activists, journalists and football fans.

“Farewell to Suleiman al-Obeid, the Palestinian Pelé,” the EUFA said in a post on X. “A talent who gave hope to countless children, even in the darkest of times.”

The statement offered a “farewell” without naming his killer, the circumstances of his killing or condemning the targeted killing of Palestinians, including young footballers.

Mohamed Salah, Liverpool’s star footballer, directly challenged UEFA’s silence.

"Can you tell us how he died, where, and why," he wrote on his X page.

Francesca Albanese, UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, demanded stronger action from the European football association, beyond a statement.

"Time to expel its killers from competitions, @UEFA. Let’s make sport apartheid and genocide free. One ball, one kick at the time," she wrote on X.

Italy-based football journalist Nima Tavallaey Roodsari condemned UEFA for failing to address the truth of the matter – the killing of a Palestinian footballer by the Israeli regime.

"Not ONE word of how he died & who killed him, all while refusing to suspend the zionazi apartheid state almost 2 years into its holocaust of Gaza. What an absolute, feckless, corrupt, disgrace of an organization UEFA are," he wrote in response to the UEFA tweet.

American journalist and author Abby Martin slammed the UEFA for “laundering war crimes,”

"UEFA omits that Israel killed Suleiman in cold blood while he sought aid in Gaza — stop laundering war crimes and ban Israel from all sports," she wrote.

Ben Joyce, football writer and manager, called the European soccer body “complicit in genocide.”

"Genuinely insane to post this, completely ignoring how he died, who was responsible... Shameful," he wrote on X, responding to the UEFA tweet.

Mehdi Hasan, British-American journalist and founder-editor of Zeteo, reminded UEFA that Obeid did not die of natural causes but was murdered by the Tel Aviv regime.

"Farewell? He didn't have a heart attack. He didn't die of old age. He was killed by Israel," he wrote.

Max Blumenthal, American journalist and editor of the Grayzone website, described UEFA’s message as “propaganda by omission”:

"Propaganda by omission in an empire of lies. Suleiman al-Obeid, the captain of the Palestinian national team, was murdered by Israel while seeking food for his family. And UEFA won’t name his killers, let alone ban them for breaking all FIFA’s rules," he wrote.

Historian and activist Louis Allday denounced UEFA’s “shameless sellout” silence.

'"Farewell?" He's not going on holiday, he was martyred in the horrific genocide being waged by Israel, the settler colony that you @UEFA are too pathetic to even name, let alone kick out of your competitions, you shameless sellout scum. Silence was preferable to this nonsense.'"

Daniel Lambert, CEO of Bohemian Football Club, called UEFA “absolute cowards”:

"Who killed him? How did he die? Israel remains a full member of UEFA despite its teams playing on illegally occupied land. And as they commit war crimes, you don't remove them from any competitions. A pathetic organisation," Lambert wrote.

Football writer James Nalton highlighted the broader issue of football’s silence on Palestinian massacres, including those of footballers.

"I wrote in last week's column about football's general lack of acknowledgement of players killed in Gaza. This 'farewell' message is another example. Suleiman al-Obeid, 'the Palestinian Pelé,' was killed by an Israeli attack on people waiting for aid in Gaza," wrote Nalton.

Sports writer Mauro Berruto addressed UEFA and FIFA directly.

"Hi @UEFA, you forgot to write that he was shot dead by Israeli forces on August 6, while waiting for humanitarian aid in #Gaza. And you forgot to say that you and @FIFAcom still allow #Israel to participate in all international football competitions," he stated.

Leyla Hamed, a football writer, pointed to the hypocrisy in UEFA’s silence over the continued killings of Palestinian footballers amid the ongoing genocide.

"On a rare occasion, UEFA has actually spoken about a Palestinian footballer. But without saying how he was killed. Or who killed him. As if it were some natural death. He was murdered by Israel, just like the more than 400 Palestinian footballers you’ve chosen to forget," she tweeted.

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