Soccer star Haaland calls freed hostage and mega fan Omer Shem Tov

Norwegian holds video conversation with former captive; Shem Tov thanks him for ‘amazing’ gesture

Norwegian soccer superstar Erling Haaland held a video call with released Israeli hostage Omer Shem Tov on Wednesday.

In a video posted to Instagram by Shem Tov, Haaland was seen smiling and asking the former Gaza captive, who was freed by Palestinian terrorists in February, how he is doing.

“Thank you so much for calling me,” Shem Tov said, adding that he’s doing “amazing, thank God.”

“I really appreciate what you are doing and I really like you… It’s amazing, I’m so excited.”

It was not clear who set up the call.

Haaland is considered among the top goal-scorers in the world, a skill he demonstrated last month when he put the ball in the net as Norway beat Israel 4-2 in its second qualifying match for the 2026 World Cup in North America.

ארלינג הולאנד, כוכב נבחרת נורווגיה ומנצ'סטר סיטי, שוחח עם שורד השבי עומר שם טוב | תיעוד@lianwildau
(צילום: מתוך אינסטגרם) pic.twitter.com/sD9nUrC2p4

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) April 16, 2025

Ahead of the game, some of the Norwegian squad made public comments criticizing Israel over its military campaign in Gaza or expressing reluctance to play the Israeli team.

However, Haaland sidestepped the issue, telling media, “I don’t think I, as a footballer, should talk about it. There are others who should decide what to do and where they stand. Maybe ask someone else.”

Shem Tov was abducted from the Nova music festival on October 7, 2023, during the devastating Hamas-led invasion of southern Israel that killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians. Over 5,000 terrorists burst into the country, abducting 251 people as hostages and taking them to the Gaza Strip.

Israel responded with a military campaign to destroy Hamas, remove it from power in the Gaza Strip, and save the hostages.