Arab-Israeli soccer player booed by Jewish soccer fans
Despite the goals he scored against Faroe Islands and Austria, Israeli-Jewish soccer fans booed Israeli-Arab player Moanes Dabbur.
It's been a wild week for Israel’s national soccer team and its Arab-Israeli player Moanes Dabbur. Israel won matches against the teams of the Faroe Islands and Austria — 4-0 and 5-2, respectively — with Dabbur scoring a goal in each. But after coach Willy Ruttensteiner asked Dabbur not to play against Denmark, Israel lost with an embarrassing 0-5.
Feelings are mixed among the fans and players. Dabbur had only recently resumed playing and during the home game against Austria on Sept. 4, he was subjected to booing and insults not from the opposing side but from the Israeli fans.
Dabbur had been invited to play for the Israeli team in matches against the Faroe Islands, Austria and Denmark for the first time since the May Instagram affair. During the riots that erupted in Israel’s mixed cities and Jerusalem, while the Israel Defense Forces was conducting its Gaza Guardian of the Walls operation, Dabour posted an image of Al-Aqsa with a Quranic verse: “Don’t think that God will ignore the acts of evil men. He will only delay their judgement until the day the gaze is frozen.”
The post went viral and upset Israeli sports fans and others who considered the post an attack against the state of Israel and Israeli Jews. Israel’s national soccer team hurried to censure the soccer player and published a notice saying it expects all its athletes to express themselves in ways that contribute to unity, reconciliation, and calm. Without mentioning Dabbur by name, the association called on its players to remember that they represent Israel and warned that disrespectful behavior could result in disciplinary action.
