Playing at Bloomfield stadium in Tel Aviv as part of the Champions Trophy which opposed LOSC Lille Paris Saint-Germain (1-0) this Sunday, Moroccan international Achraf Hakimi was whistled by the public, from the first minutes of the match.
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Commentators described “A concert of whistles” with each catch of the ball, probably because of the public support of the Moroccan international to Palestine. Last may and in a context of escalating tensions between Israel and Palestine, the 22-year-old side tweeted “Free Palestine”. That month, the conflict escalated after Israeli military interventions in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of Al-Quds, under extremist nationalist claims around that part of the holy city. Several Palestinian families were forcibly removed from their homes, along with arrests.
The Tel Aviv audience seems to have held a nagging grudge over the footballer’s support for the displaced, leaving the spirit of football and sport on the sidelines. Following his performance, Achraf Hakimi received several supportive comments on Twitter.
