England ban Israel flags and will not light up Wembley arch
The Wembley arch will not be lit in the colours of Israel and supporters will have flags confiscated when England play Australia on Friday night.
However, players will hold a minute’s silence and wear black armbands to mark the terrorist attacks in the Jewish state.
Telegraph Sport has been told fear of a backlash is behind the decision not to illuminate the arch in blue and white either before or during Friday’s friendly, with one of the factors said to be a forthcoming World Cup qualifier between Australia and Palestine.
It can be disclosed that the Football Association rejected a proposal by Lord Mann, the Government’s adviser on anti-Semitism, to illuminate Wembley’s iconic structure on Thursday night instead of during the England-Australia match.
Talks between the FA and Football Australia included one idea to switch the Wembley arch lights off as a mark of respect.
Fans attending Friday’s game will be banned from bringing flags, other than those of the two teams playing, to avoid pro-Palestinian or pro-Israeli demonstrations.
‘We stand for humanity’
The FA said in a statement: “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.
“England and Australia players will wear black armbands during their match at Wembley Stadium and there will also be a period of silence held before kick off.
“Following discussions with partners and external stakeholders, we will only permit flags, replica kits and other representations of nationality for the competing nations inside Wembley Stadium for the upcoming matches against Australia [Oct 13] and Italy [Oct 17].
“The British Red Cross have also launched an emergency appeal to support the people affected by the humanitarian crisis in the region, and we will promote this appeal within the stadium on Friday.”
The statement was condemned by leading British Jews, football fans and politicians across the political spectrum.
Lord Triesman, the Jewish former FA chairman and ex-government minister, said the Wembley arch “absolutely should” have been lit in the colours of Israel’s flag.
“The reality is that on occasions where people have felt there has been an absolutely monumental act of terrorism, like the Ukrainian intervention, they have consistently thought it to be responsible to show some sort of sympathy, some sort of recognition, of what people have gone through,” he said.
He also branded the FA’s statement “a weak attempt to placate the people who were understandably critical” of its prior silence, adding: “Once the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition and the Foreign Secretary and the Shadow Foreign Secretary and the members of the major smaller parties have all said this is an appalling act of terrorism – and when you know the detail, the more appalling it is – I think that they thought, ‘Oh, God, we’d better do something’.”
Comparing the leadership shown by the FA to that of England manager Gareth Southgate when it came to his players’ desire to support certain causes – which have included their controversial decision to take a knee during games at the height of the furore over Black Lives Matter – Lord Triesman said: “In this case, what we find is that the football authorities will go to almost any lengths not to do that.”
Chelsea Jewish Supporters Group posed on X: “This spineless response is why we need people to speak out against terrorism.”
Health minister Neil O’Brien became the first member of the Government to hit out, posting on X: “The FA put BLM logos on shirts & got players taking the knee to support BLM.
“BLM are currently supporting Hamas as they murder children.
“Now the FA won’t show solidarity with Israel by lighting Wembley as they did for other terror attacks.
“Just pathetic.”
Lord Austin, the former Labour minister, wrote: “Pathetic. Useless. A complete disgrace. The FA should be ashamed of themselves.
“Just as they did after the terror attacks in Paris and Brussels, they should be lighting the arch to remember the victims of terrorism.”
Brendan Clarke-Smith, the Conservative MP, posted simply, “Shameful response”, while colleague Mark Jenkinson wrote: “ The FA are quite the outfit… BLM support, taking the knee – and now this.”
The Government itself did not immediately comment but Health Secretary Steve Barclay earlier joined calls for the Wembley arch to be lit up in blue and white on Friday, telling Sky News: “We should make clear our strong support for Israel.”
He added: “We stand with Israel, and I think we’ve seen that with Parliament, we’ve seen it with Number 10.
“I think it would be fitting to show that with Wembley as well.”
Claudia Mendoza, the co-chief executive of the Jewish Leadership Council, said: “Did the FA send solidarity to Russians who were impacted by Ukrainian response to its invasion?”
Marie van der Zyl, the president 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 co-ordinated 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.”
The Wembley arch was lit with the colours of the Ukraine flag 24 hours after Russia’s invasion of its neighbour last year, while the terrorist attacks in Israel saw the latter’s flag projected onto 10 Downing Street and other London landmarks.
Friday’s minute’s silence will be dedicated to the innocent victims of the weekend’s bloodshed as well as civilians to have been killed or injured in retaliatory air strikes by Israel.
It is hoped that will prevent the moment being disrupted by pro-Palestinian or Israeli chanting.
The FA was told by the Government on Wednesday that it would be right to show support for victims of the terror attacks in Israel.
Lighting the arch would have been ‘empowering’
Lucy Frazer, the Culture Secretary, wrote to major UK sports bodies: “In the light of the attacks in Israel on behalf of the secretary of state we would encourage you to mark the events appropriately in line with previous events where sport has come together.”
That also prompted the Premier League and English Football League both to announce on Thursday there would be periods of silence and that players, managers and match officials would wear black armbands during their next rounds of fixtures.
They also pledged to make unspecified donations to the British Red Cross.
The Premier 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 fallout from the weekend’s terrorist attacks continued to be felt in football on Wednesday, with Arsenal warning their players about the backlash they could face over social media posts after Mohamed Elneny changed his Twitter and Instagram avatars to a Palestine flag.
Clubs have maintained a public silence so far but two Arsenal players have used social media to offer support to both Israel and Palestine, which has prompted the club to warn their entire squad about the potential backlash they and the club could face.
While Elneny changed his avatars to a Palestine flag, Oleksandr Zinchenko posted a message on Instagram that read “I stand with Israel” before deleting it.
Arsenal have not ordered either player to delete their messages or replace their avatars, but have told their squad that any social media posts on the subject could cause upset or anger among their global fan base.
Fifa accused of ‘complete disregard’ for Israel
By Ben Rumsby
Fifa has been accused by the Israel Football Association of showing “complete disregard” for the terrorist attacks in the country after not offering condolences.
The IFA hit out after Aleksander Ceferin, the president of Uefa, wrote to his counterpart at the federation, Moshe Shino Zuares, to express “profound sorrow” over the bloodshed triggered by Hamas militants over the weekend.
Zuares wrote back thanking Ceferin for his support but Telegraph Sport has been told the IFA is aghast at what one senior figure branded “the sound of silence” from Fifa.
He said: “We try to explain to ourselves the complete disregard by Fifa and are afraid to even express the possible explanations for that. More than 1,200 civilians were massacred in the most barbaric manner and fell victim to a massacre that no human being can imagine, over 150 were kidnapped and more than 3,000 were injured. We were attacked by monsters. And yet, Fifa sticks with the sound of silence.”
Ceferin’s letter to Zuares came as Uefa postponed Israel’s European Championship qualifier in Kosovo due to the Israeli government banning sports teams from travelling abroad over safety fears.
The country’s home game against Switzerland on Sunday had already been called off.
The Uefa president wrote: “On behalf of Uefa and the European football community, I am writing to express profound sorrow about the tragic acts of violence that occurred last week in Israel, resulting in the loss of innocent lives.
“My heart goes out to all the victims and their families during these difficult times. It is an unimaginable tragedy, and the pain and sorry are profound and resonate across the entire football community. We sincerely hope no one will ever again experience such grief.
“My friend, I pray for these deep wounds to heal and for a world where such senseless acts of violence have no place.”
