Football commentator in trouble for anti-Israel comments live on air
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BeIN SPORTS commentator Issam Chaouali’s comments regarding the escalation in the conflict between Israel and Palestine have seen him land in hot water. He and his colleagues have reportedly been reminded to take a neutral political stance while on air. Chaouali appeared to support the Palestinian state during Sunday’s Premier League clash between Arsenal and Manchester City, during his introduction to the game that went out to Arabic-speaking nations – including Palestine.
As players of each team took the knee before kick-off at the Emirates, bringing further light to the fight against discrimination, Chauali took the moment to seemingly speak on the developing conflict between Israel and Palestine.
“They’ve talked about strength and it was an illusion,” he said. “They’ve talked about advanced technology and it was an illusion. And they’ve talked about unbeaten army and it was an illusion.
“They’ve talked about the Bar-Lev border (1973 fortifications between Egypt and Israel) and it was an illusion. They’ve talked about a border that can’t be crossed. Did you not understand? Did we not understand? They are just a balloon of illusion.”
While on Instagram, his translated post read: “They told you about power… It was an illusion.” Alongside an image of the Arsenal and City players before kick-off.
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According to The Athletic, the reminder came after Chaouali had also been asked to remove his Palestinian badge by one of beIN SPORTS’ producers. But despite conversations taking place between the broadcaster and the Premier League – they are confident that there has been no breach of the broadcasting agreement.
A beIN SPORTS spokesperson said: “As a leading global media group, we condemn any form of conflict or violence, while we champion and support people, causes and interests of every background, language and cultural heritage across the 40+ hugely diverse countries we operate in worldwide.
“Our corporate policies require apolitical neutrality and broadcast coverage that focuses on sport – which is demanded of all our staff.”
Chaouali and his colleagues have been told that they must not make political comments and to only concentrate on sport regardless of their personal opinions.
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This comes at a time when the Premier League has not yet made a public statement on the conflict and the Daily Mail claims that it is coming under increasing pressure from senior executives within clubs, who are unhappy at the silence from the competition.
FIFA are also yet to make a formal comment, while UEFA postponed all matches that were set to take place in Israel over the next two weeks. The Premier League did hold informal talks with clubs, but the lack of clarity over its public position has frustrated some club chiefs.
While Arsenal’s Ukrainian star Oleksandr Zinchenko, on the eve of the Gunners’ victory over rivals City, insisted that he “stands with Israel” in an Instagram story, though his message was promptly deleted amid a backlash from fans.
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