A video has been going viral online showing a footballer waving the Palestinian flag on the ground celebrating his team’s victory. Many claimed that the video shows Cristiano Ronaldo expressing his support for the country.
This comes amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine which has killed over 1,500 people in days. The news has been hitting the headlines everywhere and has refused to die down.
The viral video was shared widely on X, formerly Twitter, with people writing captions like ‘Ronaldo Supports Palestine’. Another post said, “Star footballer Cristiano Ronaldo is supporting Palestine by raising their flag after victory.” All these posts have used hashtags surrounding the ongoing conflict.
Is it really Ronaldo in the video?
The video shows a footballer wearing a white jersey with the number 18 on it. A little research shows that the footballer in the video is not really Ronaldo but Moroccan player Jawad El Yamiq. He waved the Palestinian flag on the ground after his team defeated Canada during last year’s FIFA World Cup.
Back in December 2022, several platforms had shared Jawad’s video on X. His images from the celebration are present online.
The FIFA World Cup was held last year in Qatar. On many occasions, the Palestinian flag had made an appearance throughout the tournament.