Article by Alexandru Tomuțiu – Published Thursday, May 14, 2026, 5:23 p.m. / Updated Thursday, May 14, 2026, 5:28 p.m.
A gesture made by Lamine Yamal (18), the right wing of Barcelona, during the celebration of the La Liga title, escalated into a matter of state, causing a vehement reaction from the Israeli Minister of Defense, Israel Katz.
During the Barcelona parade, the extremist asked a supporter to throw him a Palestinian flag. Yamal not only posted it, but also shared the image on social media, where he has over 42 million followers.
Lamine Yamal, accused by the Israelis: “He chose to incite hatred”
The Israeli official's response came via a post on his X account, written in Spanish. “Lamine Yamal chose to incite against Israel and incite hatred while our soldiers are fighting against the terrorist organization Hamas, which massacred, raped, burned and killed Jewish children, women and the elderly on October 7,” said Israel Katz, according to abola.pt.
The minister continued: “Whoever supports this kind of messaging should ask themselves: do they consider this humanitarian? Is it moral? Is it incitement against Israel and against the Jewish people.”
Israel Katz also expressed his hope that FC Barcelona will publicly distance themselves from the player's act, stating that there is no place “for incitement nor for supporting terrorism”.
Before the match against Alaves, 0-1, coach Hansi Flick commented on the moment. The technician admitted that he did not like Yamal's gesture and revealed that he had a discussion with the player. However, the German emphasized that the international is an adult and makes his own decisions.
“There are things that normally I don't really like. I spoke to him, we have to take into account what people expect from us, but he is an adult, he is 18 years old, it is his decision,” said the coach.
