Until a few weeks ago, Diya Saba (30) was loved by fans.
The midfielder was signed by Israeli soccer team Maccabi Haifa last year, signing a five-year contract that guaranteed him more money than any other player in the squad.
– He scored a lot of goals and came to us when we were struggling, says Roy Tilney to NRK.
The 51-year-old has been with Maccabi Haifa since his father took him to matches when he was 8 years old, and now attends almost every match the team plays.
Football fan: Roy Tilney (50) in a previous match with Maccabi Haifa.
Photo: private
Zia Saba is credited with winning the Israeli championship.
Maccabi Haifa also ranks second behind Belgian Gent in its European League group.
Distrust of Arabs
Maccabi Haifa in Israel is distinguished by being a mixed team in which Arabs, Jews, Druze and Christians play together.
“An unexpected symbol of coexistence,” the Israeli newspaper Haaretz wrote about it in late August.
– Unlike many other football teams, we believe that Jews and Arabs can live together. But we are Israel, and you do not urinate in a well to drink from, Tilney asserts.
It started with a post on social media a few days after the war started. There, Diya Saba’s wife expressed her concern for the Palestinian children.
“There are children in Gaza too,” she wrote on Instagram.
The October 7 terrorist attack prompted Israel to launch a war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Over the past seven weeks, attacks have claimed the lives of several thousand Palestinian children, according to Hamas health authorities.
The fact that the first comment was not about the Hamas massacre, but rather about Gaza, made the fan club question the couple’s loyalty.
– Roy Tilney says: I thought he would express his support for us after women were raped and children were taken hostage.
with «we» He means Israel.
No stars: Maccabi Haifa played a Europa League match earlier in November, and star player Saba did not feature.
Photo: Reuters
Diya Saba and his wife are among the approximately 20% of Arabs who are Israeli citizens.
They are descendants of Palestinians who did not leave when the majority were expelled in 1948 when Israel was created.
Every time Israel is in a war or conflict, the Arab population is asked to answer which side they are really on, says journalist Daniel McDowell on Israel’s Sport 5 TV channel.
– There’s doubt underneath. It’s very unfair, but Arabs are required to stand up and show that they are on Israel’s side, he says.
Celebrity quickly in the field
The window of time is very short before it’s “too late,” McDowell explains.
Footballers, actors and other celebrities were quick to show their disgust with Hamas after the terrorist attack.
But Saba remained silent until a few days later his wife showed concern for the children of Gaza.
Despite deleting the message and Diya Saba’s attempt to clarify, the criticism continued.
– Daniel McDowell says the chances of him staying in the team are very slim.
The club has not yet wanted to comment on the matter.
Full position: Maccabi Haifa fans before the match against Panathinaikos in Haifa two days before the terrorist attack.
Photo: AP
It is believed that the reason was that Israel at that time needed everyone to stand together behind the nation.
– What she did was interpreted as not having any sympathy for the 1,200 people who were brutally killed in Israel, but rather with the other side, which proved that they are against the Jews and Israel. Even if you didn’t mean it, that’s how it was perceived, he says.
First match since the attack
About 50 members of the Maccabi Haifa fan club were killed in the terrorist attack. Roy Tilney says he can’t forgive.
– The families who came every week to see him play were kidnapped or killed. Usually I’m willing to forgive, but not this time.
On Saturday, Maccabi Haifa played its first match since the October 7 terrorist attack – without fans in the stands or Dia Saba on the pitch.
McDowell believes the club should also bear its share of responsibility for the star player’s disappearance, and says it would be a loss for the team.
He does not believe that other Arab-Israeli players will face similar problems, because they were quick to do what was expected of them in Israel.
– Others have proven to be on the right side, McDowell says.
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