Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has slammed Lamine Yamal after the Barcelona star was filmed waving a Palestinian flag during the club’s La Liga title celebrations this week.
In a message posted in Spanish on X, Katz accused the 18-year-old footballer of ‘inciting against Israel and encouraging hatred’.
‘Lamine Yamal chose to incite against Israel and encourage hatred while our soldiers fight the terrorist organisation Hamas, which massacred, raped, burned and murdered Jewish children, women and elderly people on October 7,’ the minister wrote.
Katz went on to question whether supporting such gestures could be considered ‘humanitarian’ or ‘moral’, insisting that he would not remain silent in the face of what he described as ‘incitement against Israel and the Jewish people’.
The Israeli minister also said he expected FC Barcelona to distance itself from the incident and make it clear there is no place for ‘incitement or support for terrorism’.
The controversy erupted after Yamal was seen waving a Palestinian flag handed to him by a supporter during Barcelona’s title celebrations in the Catalan capital.
The winger later shared images of the moment on his Instagram account, where he has more than 42 million followers, helping fuel a fierce reaction online.
Neither Yamal nor Barcelona had publicly responded to Katz’s comments at the time of writing.
