‘ZOG’: Antisemitic graffiti at Arsenal stadium after UK team unveils Israeli-founded sponsor

Vandals use ‘Zionist Occupied Government’ conspiracy theory in targeting London soccer team, the new English league champion, and US company Deel, founded by a French-Israeli

By ToI Staff 21 May 2026, 9:09 am

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Graffiti reading "No Deel ZOG" -- using an acronym for the antisemitic term "Zionist-Occupied Government," popularized by white supremacists -- is seen on the Arsenal soccer team's Emirates Stadium in London, on May 18, 2026. (X, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

The Arsenal soccer team’s home stadium in London was vandalized this week with antisemitic graffiti, days after the British club announced a sponsorship by tech company Deel, whose co-founder is Israeli.

“No Deel ZOG,” the graffiti spotted on Monday night read, using an acronym for “Zionist Occupied Government,” a term popularized by white supremacists and deployed for anti-Jewish conspiracy theories.

It appeared the day before Arsenal won the Premier League championship for the first time in 22 years.

London’s Metropolitan Police, referring to the graffiti as antisemitic, said it was investigating the incident, but that no arrests have yet been made. It is being treated as racially or religiously aggravated criminal damage, police said in a statement.

Deel creates human-resources and payroll software, used by some 40,000 businesses around the world. Co-founded in 2019 by French-Israeli entrepreneur Alex Bouaziz and China-born Shuo Wang, the company is incorporated in the US state of Delaware.

The company’s expanded partnership with Arsenal – which will have players sport the Deel logo on their shirt sleeves starting next season – was announced last week, building on an existing sponsorship announced in December 2025.

Arsenal’s Riccardo Calafiori hugs Piero Hincapie after a Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Burnley in London, on May 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

The Deel logo will replace the phrase “Visit Rwanda,” which players have sported for almost a decade amid a partnership with the African nation’s development board.

That sponsorship also drew opposition from some fans, who pointed to alleged atrocities by Rwandan-backed forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

In a post to X on Monday, the local council of Islington, where Emirates Stadium is located, said its environment staff had visited the site of the graffiti, alongside police.

“We’re very saddened to see this,” the council wrote. “They are working with Arsenal to remove the offensive graffiti, and we will return to check that it has been removed.”

Neither Deel nor Arsenal has commented on the incident.