The Government’s adviser on anti-Semitism has described the Football Association’s decision not to light the Wembley arch in the colours of the Israel flag before Friday’s friendly with Australia as “mind-blowing”.
Lord Mann said the FA had missed an opportunity to send a “message of hope and comfort” to Israel and the Jewish community following attacks on civilians by Hamas.
Speaking to LBC, Lord Mann, who previously chaired the All-Party Parliamentary Group Against Antisemitism, said of the decision: “I made it easy for them – I said, ‘why don’t you put up the Jewish prayer colours which have been there for thousands of years'.
“The Wembley Arch is seen by the Jewish community in north London more than any other icon, and the fact they couldn’t do that for an hour or two last night just to give that message of hope and comfort, I find depressing.
“I find it quite mind-blowing. Instead, they’re having a minute’s silence on a Friday evening when not a single Jewish person will be present.”
Blue and white are symbolic colours in the Jewish faith and are used in the Tallit, the Jewish prayer shawl.
Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer criticised the FA’s decision in a post on social media on Thursday evening, saying it was “especially disappointing” in light of their stance on other terrorist attacks in the recent past. The arch had previously been lit in yellow and blue in an expression of solidarity with Ukraine following Russia’s invasion.
The FA is said to have decided against the move over fears that it could be seen as divisive, the Telegraph reported. Australia will also play Palestine in a World Cup qualifier on November 21.
The Board of Deputies of British Jews also criticised the FA’s statement – pointing out that it made “no mention of the mass terrorist murders of hundreds of innocent Israelis last Saturday”.
England manager Gareth Southgate defended the FA, saying they had “tried to make the best decision with good intentions”.
“Clearly whatever decision they came to would have been criticised in one way or another, so I also recognise how difficult it was for them. I wasn’t involved in those discussions, (but) they went on for a long time I know.”
Teams in the EFL and Premier League will also pay tribute to the victims of the conflict in their next rounds of matches.
Meanwhile, Israel’s military on Friday urged a million civilians in northern Gaza to relocate south within 24 hours as it amassed tanks nearby ahead of a possible ground invasion.
More than 1,300 people in Israel have been killed since Hamas launched an unprecedented assault on Israel’s territory on Saturday – the highest death toll in decades.
