Lamine Yamal Palestinian flag celebration draws political reaction from Israel official

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Sempre Barca

·15 mai 2026

Lamine Yamal Palestinian flag celebration draws political reaction from Israel official

FC Barcelona were recently confirmed as the champions of Spain after they mathematically wrapped up the La Liga title with a 2-0 win over Real Madrid. Following that win, they were handed the trophy, and the team celebrated their triumph with the fans for two days, with a parade in the city being the main highlight of these celebrations.

There were several images and videos from this parade that went viral on social media, but one moment in particular has generated a wider debate. In one of the clips, Lamine Yamal can be seen briefly holding and waving a Palestinian flag after receiving it from a fan during the celebrations.

Vidéos OneFootball

Lamine Yamal waved a Palestinian flag during Barcelona's open-top victory parade to celebrate winning LaLiga.
– mardi 12 mai 2026

The gesture was later amplified after the player shared it on his Instagram account, where he has a massive following, and it immediately generated discussion across social platforms, with opinions divided over the presence of political symbols during official club celebrations.

As reported by Mundo Deportivo, the reaction has now reached the highest level. The Defense Minister of Israel, Israel Katz, took to X to criticize Lamine Yamal for the gesture. His statement read as follows:

Lamine Yamal chose to incite against Israel and foment hatred while our soldiers are fighting the terrorist organization Hamas, an organization that massacred, raped, burned, and murdered Jewish children, women, and elderly on October 7. Whoever supports this type of message should ask themselves: Does he consider this humanitarian? Is this moral? As the Minister of Defense of the State of Israel, I will not remain silent in the face of incitement against Israel and against the Jewish people. I expect a great and respected club like FC Barcelona to distance itself from these statements and make it unequivocally clear that there is no place for incitement or for support of terrorism.

Meanwhile, Barcelona coach Hansi Flick had already addressed the matter, saying he was not entirely pleased with the gesture and confirming that he had spoken with the player.

“These are things I don’t like. I have spoken with him, and if he wants to do it… It’s his decision. He is 18 years old,” Flick said, adding that players are in football “to make people happy” and that this should remain the first priority.