Meta has insisted that Tottenham forward Manor Solomon’s Instagram account was removed by mistake and not because of any content related to his support for Israel.
According to a report, Solomon found out his account had been deactivated after he was given permission by the club to travel to Israel to resolve a family matter. But a spokesperson for Meta, which owns Instagram, told the Guardian that the 24-year-old’s account “was removed by mistake and has been quickly restored. His account wasn’t removed because of any content he had shared.”
The report in the Telegraph said Tottenham had been in contact with Meta and Solomon’s account was restored on Wednesday afternoon after it was deactivated earlier this week. Tottenham were said to be backing the player’s insistence that he was not using the platform to post anti-Palestine material and only criticised the Hamas attack while supporting Israelis who had been injured and died.
The Israeli Football Association had earlier posted a picture on its Instagram account of Solomon with his mouth taped over and a caption that read: “The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. So help you God!”
A representative for the Israeli winger had told the Telegraph: “It’s ridiculous. He didn’t make any anti-Palestine posts, just support for his own country. It’s ridiculous. Instagram is ridiculous.”
Tottenham did not comment when approached by the Guardian.