Last week, after FC Barcelona routed rivals Real Madrid 2-0 in the season’s last El Clásico, an usual victory parade was witnessed in the Spanish city, which was covered in red and blue flags as well as tifos. Amid the celebrations and chaos, one image stood out—Barcelona and Spain’s young prodigy Lamine Yamal boldly waving the Palestinian flag to the roaring crowd.
Lately, Barcelona has become one of the strongest and most symbolically important urban centres of pro-Palestinian solidarity in Europe. And in that, the 18-year-old’s move wasn’t about just celebrating a trophy; he was taking a bold stand against something many of his predecessors shied away from. Yamal made a statement. If that wasn’t enough, he then posted an image of himself from the same parade. The result—more than 7 million likes with teammates and other footballers praising him for the same, and fans around the world showing support for his gesture.
In an era where many footballers choose to protect their brand, Yamal chose his identity. It’s not the first time that Yamal was outspoken about public issues. In March, during the international break, Spain faced Egypt in a friendly fixture at home. The stadium was filled with chants, “If you don’t jump, you’re a Muslim”, targeting the Muslim identity of the Egyptian players and the fans.
