As Arab fans of football watched the 2021 FIFA Arab Cup held in Qatar earlier this month, four Arab footballers taking part in the special game dubbed as the "FIFA Arab Legends" match stirred controversy for erasing the Israeli flag from the T-shirt designed by FIFA.
The official T-shirt which was worn by Arab former footballers playing for the special match played by some of the most famous retired football players was designed by FIFA to include the Israeli flag. However, four Arab footballers chose to scrape it off.
Classless and unsportsmanlike: Several Arab soccer players erased the Israeli flag from their uniforms during a showcase match at #FIFA #ArabCup
— Emily Schrader - אמילי שריידר (@emilykschrader) December 19, 2021
Saudi Nawaf Al-Temyat, Syrian Firas al-Khatib, Iraqi Younis Mahmoud and Qatari Mohammed Saadoun.#Israel exists, get over it. pic.twitter.com/QEBioFG4Hy
According to internet sources, the four players are Nawaf Al-Temyat (Saudi Arabia), Firas Al-Khatib (Syria), Younis Mahmoud (Iraq), and Mohammed Saadoun (Qatar).
Meanwhile, a number of other players had already refused to take part in the match after knowing that one of the coaches taking part in pre-match preparations was Israeli, including Rabah Madjer, Rafik Saifi, and Rafik Hallich from Algeria.
Outrage among Israeli media after several Arab soccer players erased the Israeli flag from their uniforms during an exhibition match on the margins of the Arab Cup in Qatar.#ArabCup pic.twitter.com/hC0lEz7pQc
— PALESTINE ONLINE 🇵🇸 (@OnlinePalEng) December 19, 2021
The shirt was meant to include flags of all 211 countries that are members in FIFA.
