Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah has blasted UEFA for issuing what is beleived to be a sanitised and incomplete tribute to Palestinian football legend Suleiman al-Obeid, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza.
The Palestine Football Association says Obeid, 41, died on Wednesday when an Israeli missile struck civilians waiting for humanitarian aid in the southern Gaza Strip part of a war that has raged for nearly two years.
In its post on X (formerly Twitter), UEFA avoided mentioning how the former national team star died, instead calling him “a talent who gave hope to countless children, even in the darkest of times.”
Salah, a devout Muslim and one of the most influential voices in world football, called out the omission directly:
“Can you tell us how he died, where, and why?”
The Egyptian striker has repeatedly urged for humanitarian corridors into Gaza, but this time his words cut at the heart of what many see as Western football institutions’ reluctance to confront Israeli military actions head-on.
Mancheste United Legend Eric Cantona also joined Salah in criticizing the atrocities being commited by the Israeli army.
“How much longer are we going to allow them to commit this genocide?” He posed on his social.
Born on March 24, 1984, in Gaza, Obeid’s career began with Khadamat al-Shati before moves to Markaz Shabab al-Am’ari in the occupied West Bank and later Gaza Sport. For Palestine’s national team, he earned 24 caps, scored twice, and netted more than 100 goals at club level. His skill and resilience in the face of blockade and war earned him the nickname “Palestinian Pele.”
Obeid’s killing is the latest in a string of civilian deaths that have devastated Gaza’s sports community. Critics say UEFA’s cautious wording reflects a broader unwillingness among sporting bodies to challenge powerful geopolitical allies — even when athletes become casualties of war.