The Barcelona soccer team issued a statement distancing the organization from star player Lamine Yamal after he caused a stir by waving a Palestinian flag at the team's victory parade in Barcelona on Monday.
Yamal, at 18 years old, was a major asset to Barcelona's success this season, scoring 16 goals in 28 matches. The parade in question was attended by thousands of fans celebrating the team's 29th Spanish league title in a 2-0 win over rivals Real Madrid.
FC Barcelona's statement, written in Hebrew, was specifically aimed at its Israeli fans. It clarified that Yamal's actions did not constitute any political statement on behalf of the organization.
"We would like to emphasize that the moment in question was not planned in advance by any party associated with FC Barcelona," the statement added, "but rather occured spontaneously."
The statement noted that video footage of the "moment" would not be posted on any of the club's official social media channels.
"FB Barcelona is proud to represent a global community of fans from many different backgrounds, cultures, and nationalities, including the Israeli community," the group said. "On behalf of FC Barcelona, we sincerely appreciate the Israeli fan community, the Israeli soccer players, and your continued support of the club over the years."
Israel's defense minister condemns soccer star Lamine Yamal for flying Palestinian flag
Defense Minister Israel Katz condemned FC Barcelona soccer star Lamine Yamal in a statement on X on Thursday.
"Lamine Yamal chose to incite against Israel and foment hatred while our soldiers are fighting the terrorist organization Hamas, an organization that massacred, raped, burned, and murdered Jewish children, women, and elderly on October 7," Katz wrote.
"Whoever supports this type of message should ask themselves: Does he consider this humanitarian? Is this moral? " he asked. "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 @FCBarcelona to distance itself from these statements and make it unequivocally clear that there is no place for incitement or for support of terrorism," Katz concluded.