Leading Jewish groups, the culture secretary, and the government’s independent adviser on antisemitism have hit out at English football’s response to the attacks by Hamas in Israel and criticised the Football Association’s refusal to light up the Wembley arch.
With the FA believed to be nervous over being seen to favour one of Israel and Palestine, it has decided to hold a period of silence for all victims of the conflict before England host Australia in a friendly on Friday night.
On a day when the Premier League also broke its silence on the situation, the FA said England and Australia players would wear black armbands and that supporters would be prevented from bringing Israeli and Palestinian kits and flags into Wembley.
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John Mann, the government’s antisemitism tsar, said the FA had alienated the UK’s Jewish community. Mann spent this week in talks with the FA over lighting the arch in the blue and white colours of the Jewish prayer shawl and argued that a minute’s silence would be too difficult to police.
He called for Mark Bullingham, the FA’s chief executive, and Debbie Hewitt, the chair, to resign if the silence is disrupted by pro-Palestinian supporters or fans show Palestinian flags inside Wembley.
“It’s not good enough,” Lord Mann said. “I advised them earlier this week that a minute’s silence wasn’t a good idea. There’ll be no Jewish people there as it’s Shabbat. This week everyone will be at home with their families. To have a minute’s silence with no Jewish people there when it’s Jewish people murdered … doesn’t work.
“I told them to light the arch as they’ve done before. I said: ‘You could do it with the Israeli flag but what would be more appropriate as you don’t want to be political is do it in blue and white’ – the Jewish religious colours because it’s actual solidarity with the British Jewish community. I initially said do it on Friday but then I said Thursday is better. … They’ve rejected that.
“It says Jews don’t count. If the silence goes badly or if there are Palestinian flags raised across Wembley then the chairman and chief executive will have to resign. That’s very straightforward … By saying it wants to avoid politics football has ended up playing politics. The FA looks hopelessly out of its depth.”
Mann was responding after the FA said: “On Friday evening, we will remember the innocent victims of the devastating events in Israel and Palestine. Our thoughts are with them, and their families and friends in England and Australia and with all the communities who are affected by this ongoing conflict. We stand for humanity and an end to the death, violence, fear and suffering.”
The reluctance from the FA and Premier League to condemn the attacks on Israeli citizens was also met with dismay by the Board of Deputies and the Campaign Against Antisemitism. Wembley has been used to mark atrocities on multiple occasions. The arch was lit up in the Turkish, French and Belgian flags after terrorist attacks and in the Ukraine flag after the country was invaded by Russia last year.
A spokesperson for the Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “The FA is sitting on the fence. These ‘devastating events’ did not just happen by chance, like some sort of natural disaster. They were brought about by a murderous terrorist organisation that barbarically slaughtered the most Jews in one day since the Holocaust. It is utterly shameful that the football industry will not acknowledge this.
“The incomprehensible decision not to light up Wembley, when the stadium has done so in the past, speaks volumes. The FA, Premier League and other bodies in British football must condemn the terrorist attacks swiftly and without caveat.”
Marie van der Zyl, the chair of the Board of Deputies said: “After the Bataclan massacre in 2015, when 90 were murdered at a Paris nightclub, La Marseillaise was played at every Premier League stadium the following weekend. When hundreds of innocent Israelis were murdered, raped and kidnapped in a coordinated terrorist campaign, unequalled since 9/11, the FA’s response is ‘to remember the victims of the conflicts in Israel and Palestine’. This weak response brings no credit on the FA.”
On Thursday night, Lucy Frazer, the culture secretary, who is Jewish and whose department oversees sport, also condemned the stance. She said: “I am extremely disappointed by the FA’s decision not to light up the Wembley Stadium arch following last weekend’s horrific terrorist attacks in Israel, and have made my views clear to the FA.
“It is especially disappointing in light of the FA’s bold stance on other terrorist attacks in the recent past. Words and actions matter. The Government is clear: we stand with Israel.”
But a spokesperson for the Palestine Solidarity Campaign in the UK said: “We welcome the FA’s decision and its resistance to pressure from the government and other political leaders.
“Emblazoning public buildings with the flag of Israel cannot be taken as a neutral act of sympathy for civilian victims of violence because that should be extended to all civilians who have been killed in the last few days, including those who are under mammoth bombardment at this moment in Gaza.
“In such circumstances displays of the Israeli flag can only be interpreted as an endorsement of an ongoing military occupation, support for human rights violations and for the war crimes the Israeli government is committing, including the blocking of all food, fuel and essential medical supplies to the people of Gaza.”
Gareth Southgate defended the FA. “My first thoughts are extreme sadness for anybody who has lost loved ones in the attacks,” the England manager said.
“In my lifetime the Middle East has been probably the most complex situation to fully understand. I think the FA will have wanted to consult as many people as it could … try and get the right position. I haven’t been involved in those discussions but they will have wanted to remain inclusive. The FA will have tried to do the right thing, take the right advice and they have come to the decision that they have.”
The Premier League said a moment’s silence would be held at its games from 21-23 October and that players, managers and match officials would wear black armbands to mark “the escalating crisis in Israel and Gaza”. The EFL said the same procedures would be followed at its 15 League One and League Two games this weekend.
Premier League clubs are wary of being seen to have taken sides and a statement from the league said: “The Premier League is shocked and saddened by the escalating crisis in Israel and Gaza, and strongly condemns the horrific and brutal acts of violence against innocent civilians. We hope for peace, and our heartfelt sympathies are with the victims, their families and the communities impacted.”
The Premier League and the EFL said they would make a donation to the British Red Cross to support aid efforts. The EFL said “our collective thoughts are with all the innocent people who have lost their lives, as well as their families, friends and all those in communities impacted by the escalating conflict”.
Meanwhile the cricketer Moeen Ali has indicated his support for Palestinians as Israel sets out to “crush and destroy” the Hamas operation in the Gaza Strip, posting an image of their flag on Instagram alongside a quote attributed to the American Muslim human rights activist Malcolm X which read: “If you’re not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing.”
The England one-day vice-captain quickly deleted the post before reposting the quote, illustrated with a picture of Malcolm X and without further comment. He is not the only Muslim cricketer at the World Cup to publicly support the Palestinians, without offering any sympathy to those killed in Israel during Saturday’s attacks: on Wednesday Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan dedicated his century against Sri Lanka to “our brothers and sisters in Gaza”.
The England and Wales Cricket Board said in a statement: “We deplore the appalling loss of innocent life following recent events in Israel and Palestine. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of all the innocent victims, and those who are still missing, as well as the communities who are affected.
“While sport seems trivial compared to the harrowing scenes we have all watched, it is also an opportunity for people to come together and remind ourselves that there’s far more that brings us together, than divides us. We should now all unify in our hope for peace.”
