Sports
Outrage after French MP says Israelis not welcome at Olympics
A French hard-left MP sparked a political row Sunday by saying Israeli athletes were not welcome at the Paris Olympics because of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, which one senior minister said had “hints of anti-Semitism”.
France Unbowed (LFI) lawmaker Thomas Portes was “putting a target on the backs of Israeli athletes”, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin told broadcaster France 2, echoing criticisms made by a major Jewish group earlier Sunday.
Yonathan Arfi, head of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France, said Israeli athletes were “already the most in danger at the Olympic Games”, referencing the 11 “murdered by Palestinian terrorists” in 1972 at the Munich Games.
In a post on X, Arfi branded Portes’s comments “irresponsible” and accused him of “legitimising Hamas”, the Palestinian militant group whose October 7 attacks on Israel sparked the Gaza war.
Portes had said at a rally in support of Palestinians that “the Israeli delegation is not welcome in Paris. Israeli sportspeople are not welcome at the Paris Olympic Games” and called for “mobilisation” around the event.
He later told the Parisien newspaper that “France’s diplomats should pressure the International Olympic Committee to bar the Israeli flag and anthem, as is done for Russia”.
“It’s time to end the double standard,” Portes added.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a limited number of Russian athletes will be allowed to compete in Paris as individuals and not under their country’s colours, and only after being vetted to ensure they have not expressed support for the war.
• Gaza war divides left –
Opposition to Israel’s campaign in Gaza was a centrepiece of LFI’s campaign ahead of European elections last month.
The territory’s Hamas-run health ministry said Sunday that almost 39,000 people had been killed in the fighting, most of them women and children.
Perceived ambiguity in LFI’s response to the October massacre broke apart an alliance of left-wing parties, which grudgingly reformed for this month’s parliamentary polls but has since struggled to find common ground despite coming first.
Beyond Darmanin and the Jewish group, Portes also came under attack from nominal parliamentary allies in the Socialist party and conservatives.
“Of course Israeli athletes are welcome, like all sportspeople from all over the world. Not for who they are but for what they do,” Socialist MP Jerome Guedj posted.
Some LFI lawmakers came out in support of Portes.
“The Israeli flag, stained with the blood of Gaza’s innocents, should not fly in Paris this summer,” MP Aymeric Caron wrote.
Israel’s football team is set to play its first Olympic match against Mali in Paris’ Parc des Prince stadium on Wednesday, two days before the opening ceremony.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s office said Sunday that he would attend Friday’s boat parade on the river Seine and a commemoration for the Israelis killed in Munich in 1972.
AFP.
Neymar Jr., a former forward for Paris Saint-Germain, may be returning to his old team, Barcelona.
This follows his brief stay at Santos, the club he frequented as a youngster.
The Brazilian confirmed his transfer from Al-Hilal, a Saudi Pro League team, to Santos on Monday.
Al-Hilal will terminate his contract, and he will sign a brief six-month contract with his Santos.
June 2025 was the expiration date of his initial contract with Al-Hilal.
Neymar will also be a free agent after his six-month stay with his hometown team.
Fichajes.net reports sources close to the Brazilian as saying that he is keen on returning to Europe in 2025.
The former PSG superstar wants to prepare himself to lead Brazil in the 2026 World Cup.
After Santos, Barcelona has emerged as one of Neymar’s top destinations, the report claims.
When Neymar Jr. relocated from Santos to Barcelona in 2013, his journey into European football officially began.
In 186 appearances across all competitions, the Selecao great helped the Catalan team score 105 goals and dish out 76 assists.
Olympic Marseille, a Ligue 1 team, is interested in loaning Sevilla forward Kelechi Iheanacho for the rest of the season.
After the Nigerian failed to make an impression after joining on a free transfer last summer, Sevilla is willing to let him go this month.
This week, the Rojiblancos acquired Jerome Akor Adams, a fellow countryman, from Montpellier, a French team.
Despite having other offers on the table, Iheanacho is reportedly leaning toward a move to Marseille, according to French publications.
According to reports, Sevilla and the striker have contacted Marseille.
Before the winter transfer window closes, the 28-year-old is anticipated to make a decision regarding his future.
Former Belgian footballer, Radja Nainggolan has reportedly been arrested for alleged involvement in cocaine smuggling.
According to a report by Corriere della Sera, the former AS Roma midfielder was allegedly part of a smuggling operation transporting cocaine from South America to Antwerp.
The Brussels public prosecutor’s office confirmed Nainggolan’s arrest as part of a large-scale raid on 30,000 houses in Antwerp and Brussels on Monday, January 27, 2025.
“The federal judicial police of Brussels carried out thirty house searches on Monday morning in the context of a case from the Organized Crime department of the Brussels public prosecutor’s office. The searches mainly took place in the province of Antwerp and in Brussels.”
“The investigation concerns suspected activities related to the importation of cocaine from South America to Europe via the port of Antwerp, as well as its distribution in Belgium. We can confirm that the footballer RN (Radja Nainggolan) has been taken into custody in connection with this case,” the statement read as quoted by UK outlet, Daily Mail.
“Given that interrogations are ongoing, and in compliance with the principle of presumption of innocence, no further comment will be made at this stage.”
Nainggolan, 36, currently plays for Lokeren-Temse, a lower-tier club in Belgium. He rose to prominence during his time in Italy, representing clubs such as Inter Milan, AS Roma, and Cagliari.
The former midfielder announced his retirement from international football in 2018 after being omitted from Belgium’s squad for the FIFA World Cup that year.
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