“Let’s make one thing clear! Damn Israel, and any other country that supports this kind of behavior,” Ziyech wrote in a first Instagram post. He would add in a second post: “My last post, my last message was also addressed to the government of our country, which supports genocide, as well as all the other countries that support it. Shame on you. I’ve had enough.”
Read: Hakim Ziyech’s cry of revolt against the Moroccan government
A few hours after the publication of this second post which raised a big controversy, the Moroccan international finally deleted it. Moroccan supporters wondered about Ziyech’s real motivations in publishing this second post. For its part, the Royal Moroccan Football Federation refrained from any comment on the subject. “Ziyech’s position surprised everyone, including his teammates in the Moroccan national team,” some supporters said.
“Ziyech, you are our star and our brother, and we respect you, and we will not attack you. It is your right, and even your duty, to express your position on the Palestinian issue,” reacted Omar Cherkaoui, a university professor, in a post on Facebook, noting however that “accusing the government of supporting the genocide against the Palestinian people is frivolous and inconsistent. And fortunately you deleted this post, even if its effects persist. At least the deletion works in your favor and not against you.”
Read: Hakim Ziyech close to a historic record
Other Moroccan fans liked and shared Ziyech’s post, expressing fears about his future with the Atlas Lions. “His presence or absence in the national team list for the next international breaks will depend on technical factors, which remain at the discretion of the national coach, Walid Regragui,” they said. As a reminder, the Galatasaray star was one of the first athletes to publicly express his support for Palestine after the outbreak of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in Gaza last October.
After scoring twice against Gabon during the last international break, Ziyech has scored 25 goals in 63 games for Morocco, becoming the third highest scorer in the history of the Moroccan team, 11 goals behind the record of 36 goals in 95 games, held by Ahmed Faras.
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