Palestinian football fans protest against the conflict in Israel during the men’s World Cup qualifier against Australia
Palestinian football fans protested against the ongoing conflict with Israel as their men’s team took on Australia in a World Cup qualifier.
The Socceroos were due to travel to Ramallah for their qualifying match on Tuesday, in what would have been the first home match played in the occupied West Bank since 2019.
However, the war between Israel and Hamas has led to the match being moved to Kuwait, with Graham Arnold’s side hoping to continue their strong start to their qualifying campaign for the 2026 tournament.
Fans attending the match protested Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip. In the seventh minute of the match, fans raised Palestinian flags to mark the start of the war on October 7 – the date of the Hamas attack in Israel.
Protesters were also seen holding key signs during the match, which Al Jazeera said symbolizes “those taken during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war,” while others held “Free Gaza” signs.
Palestinian football fans protested on Tuesday against the ongoing conflict in Israel
Fans raised flags and keffiyehs in the seventh minute of their match against Australia
The men’s soccer team wore keffiyehs as they took the field in Kuwait
A large Palestinian flag is held aloft by supporters during their match against Australia
Palestinian fans wave flags in support of their country amid the Israel conflict
Further protests took place in the 75th minute to campaign against 75 years of occupation.
The two teams stood in the center circle before kick-off and shared a moment of silence as the message ‘solidarity with Palestine’ was shown on the big screen at Kuwait’s stadium.
The Palestinian team also wore keffiyehs – a traditional headdress worn by Arab men – as they took the field.
It comes after their coach, Makram Daboub, said his players were ‘in a constant state of fear’ due to the ongoing conflict.
“The players spend most of the time in the hotel or on the bus, following the news on their phones and communicating with their families,” Daboub told the Associated Press.
“They are in a constant state of fear because of the ongoing aggression and war in Palestine.”
The Socceroos announced before the match that they will donate part of their match fees to Oxfam’s humanitarian efforts in Gaza.
Kuwait was chosen by Palestine as the venue for the rescheduled ‘home’ match, with the crowd expected to be significantly pro-Palestine.
Australia started their campaign with a comprehensive 7-0 thrashing of Bangladesh in Melbourne, while Palestine drew 0-0 with Lebanon.
But defender Harry Souttar certainly took nothing for granted.
“There are no easy football matches and there will always be good players no matter what level you play at,” he said.
“So we know we have to be at the top of our game.
Both groups of players expressed solidarity with Palestine before kick-off on Tuesday
Harry Souttar opened the scoring for Australia during a scrappy first half
“First and foremost, it will basically be a clean slate.
‘Against these teams we know we will have more ball possession.
“So it’s about our concentration levels because you never know what can happen in a day.”