2024-01-15 16:09:54
“We play football for them, for Gaza, for our cause. » In the midst of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, the defender of the Palestine team Mohammed Saleh (nothing to do with the Egyptian from Liverpool) participates in the Asian Cup keeping in mind his own people and all the Gazans under the bombings. Saleh was personally affected: his house was destroyed and his loved ones wandered from shelter to shelter. Shortly before the start of the Asian Cup in Qatar, he learned that his uncle, aunt and their children had been killed. “Today, my family is subjected to a war of extermination,” he assures.
The bloody conflict has caused a humanitarian catastrophe for the 2.4 million inhabitants of the Gaza Strip and reduced much of the territory to ruins. These tensions hung over the match between Palestine and Iran, played on Sunday. More than 27,000 supporters were present, from all over the Middle East, wearing the traditional keffiyeh, flags and scarves in the colors of Palestine and chanting pro-Palestinian or anti-Israeli slogans.
Dedicate the match to the martyrs
The stadium elated when Palestine scored their only goal just before the break. Despite this unwavering support, Iran logically won (4-1). “Sorry for the defeat,” apologized Mohammed, who would have liked to offer a victory to his people. The Palestinian team was forced to train abroad to prepare for their third Asian Cup. Despite the distance that separates him from the conflict, Mohammed Saleh knows well the dangers that Palestinians face, having lived through the conflicts in Gaza in 2008, 2012 and 2014, and “came close to dying by a hair”.
He who played for several Egyptian clubs, the last of which was Al-Ittihad of Alexandria, learned football in Gaza. The Yarmouk stadium, where he played when he was younger, was “transformed into a reception camp for families”. The Palestine team now turns its attention to its next match against the United Arab Emirates, with the aim of securing qualification. “We will play to win and dedicate this match to the martyrs,” insists the defender. For the president of the Palestinian football federation, Jibril Rajoub, “this team is the noblest symbol of our national identity”.
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