Photo: Official website of the President of the Republic of Turkey
The Turkish president’s bizarre claim would be unfounded.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said famed Portuguese soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo was subjected to a “political ban” at the World Cup in Qatar over his alleged support for the Palestinians.
“Unfortunately, they imposed a political ban on him,” Erdogan said on Sunday, speaking to a group of students.
“Sending a player like Ronaldo onto the field with just 30 minutes to go destroyed his psychology and drained his energy,” added Erdogan, explaining that “Ronaldo is the one who represents the Palestinian cause.”
According to The Times Of Israel, Ronaldo has never made any significant public statements regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and only images, videos and doctored media reports can be found online claiming that Ronaldo supports the Palestinians.
The footballer has met and photographed both Israelis and Palestinians over the years.
Many believe that Ronaldo showed a disastrous performance at the World Cup. However, as journalists note, there is no obvious basis for Erdogan’s claims that Ronaldo’s speech is in any way related to politics or any alleged position regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Supporting the Palestinian cause and waving Palestinian flags has become commonplace at the World Cup in Qatar, so much so that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas thanked Doha for using the tournament to spread support for the Palestinians.
Ronaldo, one of the most famous soccer players in the world, visited Israel in 2013 to play a World Cup qualifying match. In 2019 he met then Foreign Minister Israel Katz in Italy, giving him a t-shirt.
Read also: Erdogan has criticized the West for its reluctance to become mediators in the war in Ukraine.
