Chants of ‘death to Israel’ as Iran, Palestinian soccer teams hold moment of silence
Asian Cup match in Qatar overshadowed by Israel-Hamas war and pro-Palestinian gestures, as favorites Iran win 4-1
AL-RAYYAN, Qatar — A moment of silence was observed and then shouts of “free Palestine” rang out ahead of the Asian Cup game between Iran and the Palestinian soccer team on Sunday, while chants of “death to Israel” were heard during the game itself.
As the Israel-Hamas war reached the 100-day mark, both teams lined up in the center of the field at Education City Stadium and an announcement asked for silence “in memory of the lives tragically lost as a result of the ongoing situation in Palestine.”
A hush fell across the stadium in the city of Al-Rayyan in Qatar before the pro-Palestinian chants could be heard coming from members of the crowd.
In the first half of the match, scores of Iranian supporters led chants of “death to Israel” in Arabic. The same group also chanted “Palestine, Palestine,” also in Arabic.
Earlier, Palestinian players stood in a line with their arms linked across each others’ shoulders and sang their national anthem along with fans. The players then gathered in a huddle before and after the moment of silence.
The Palestinian soccer team’s preparations for the tournament have been carried out without domestic soccer, as well as limited opportunities to play competitive matches.
Three-time champion Iran won Sunday’s game 4-1. Iran scored two early goals as Karim Ansarifard struck inside two minutes and Shoja Khalilzadeh added another in the 12th.
Mehdi Ghayedi made it 3-0 in the 38th.
But the loudest cheers of the game came when Palestinian player Tamer Seyam pulled a goal back in first-half stoppage time.
Sardar Azmoun scored a fourth for Iran 10 minutes after the break.
The war erupted in the wake of the Hamas terror group’s October 7 massacres on southern Israeli communities, when terrorists killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took another 250 hostages of all ages, amid horrific acts of brutality.
Israel’s ensuing military campaign, aimed at rooting out Hamas, has killed almost 24,000 people in Gaza, according to unverified figures by the terror group’s health ministry that are believed to include thousands of its members as well as civilians killed by misfired Palestinian rockets. Israel says the dead include over 9,000 members of terror groups, and that 1,000 more were killed in Israel following the October 7 invasion.
