The players of the Club Deportivo Palestino team, from the Chilean first division, took to the field this Sunday with a banner denouncing the “genocide in Palestine” during their league match against Coquimbo Unidos, commemorating the first anniversary of Israel’s attacks on the Gaza Strip.
The action was carried out despite the possibility of being sanctioned by the Chilean National Professional Football Association (ANFP), which on previous occasions has already punished the squad for expressing their support for the Palestinian cause.
The club, which represents the Palestinian community in Chile, shared the images of the event on their social networks, where you can see the players holding the banner that reads the slogan condemning the attacks on Gaza.
Chile is home to the largest Palestinian diaspora outside the Arab world, with around 500,000 people who have fully integrated into Chilean society and who have a notable influence in economic, political and social spheres.
The community has historically supported the Palestinian cause and, consequently, the Palestine Sports Club has adopted as part of its identity the defense of the rights of that people.
It is not the first time that the Chilean team uses football as a platform to demonstrate. In 2014, the ANFP fined Palestino for wearing a uniform in which the number “1” formed a map of Palestine, which was interpreted as a political allusion and provoked protest reactions from pro-Israeli groups in Chile.
Since then, any manifestation of the club in this regard is closely observed by the Chilean football authorities.
The ANFP has not yet officially ruled on the sanctions that the club could eventually face, but precedents suggest that Palestino could once again find itself at the center of the controversy.
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However, the club’s board has reiterated that it will continue to support the Palestinian cause as a gesture of solidarity with its roots and its community.
