Paris soccer fans unveil huge ‘Free Palestine’ banner, days before France-Israel game

Fans from the Paris-Saint Germain soccer club unveiled a giant “Free Palestine” banner before the kickoff of their Champions League game against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday, eight days before France takes on Israel in Paris in a Nations League game.

The banner, which draped an entire, floor-to-ceiling section of the audience, showed the Dome of the Rock — a focus of Palestinian imagery, and part of the religious site after which the Hamas terror group named its October 7, 2023, onslaught against Israel.

The banner also featured a Palestinian flag, and a child wearing a shirt with imagery from the flag of Lebanon, where Israel is fighting the Hezbollah terror group.

In addition, the letter “i” in “Free Palestine” was a depiction of a map that included the entire territory of the State of Israel along with the West Bank and Gaza Strip colored in the pattern of the Palestinian keffiyeh.

“War on the pitch, but peace in the world,” a message underneath said.

During the match, fans unrolled another message that read: “Does a child’s life in Gaza mean less than another?”

PSG — which is majority-owned by the Qatari government — said they had not been aware “of any plans to display such a message.”

“Paris St Germain recalls that the Parc des Princes is — and must remain — a place of communion around a common passion for soccer and firmly opposes any message of a political nature in its stadium,” the club added in a statement.

Last year, Celtic were fined 17,500 euros because of fans waving Palestinian flags during a Champions League game.

Israel has been at war with the Hamas terror group and its allies since October 7, 2023, when thousands of Hamas-led terrorists invaded southern Israel from the Gaza Strip, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.

Israel’s subsequent military campaign has drawn global backlash, including allegations of war crimes which Israel strenuously denies. Antisemitic attacks have also surged worldwide since the Hamas attack.

France takes on Israel at the Stade de France next Thursday, with fans allowed in the 80,000-capacity stadium.

Questions have been raised on security surrounding the event in a country that has the largest Jewish community in Europe — and the third in the world, way behind the United States and Israel — as well as the biggest number of Muslims in Europe.

Last month, Paris police officials said the game would “of course be open to the public.”

Italy played Israel in Udine amid tight security, but Belgium played their home game in Debrecen, Hungary, after their federation said that “In Belgium, no local administration deemed it possible to organize the Red Devils’ home match against Israel.”