Sam

[Sam @SamAS_91]

@ThisIsNotMe35 @keithcb49 @hithisiswes @keithmorey Serves no purpose to you, a straight, white British man in his 50s. We really aren't the people to be saying whether this has an impact or not, we simply couldn't ever understand what it's like, ever.

[Sam @SamAS_91]

@ThisIsNotMe35 @keithcb49 @keithmorey @hithisiswes It's a peaceful stand against racism, not an endorsement of any organisation. You're confusing the wider message with BLM as an organisation. It's the players' choice, takes seconds harms nobody. Surely respecting their right to make that choice shouldn't be so difficult?

[Sam @SamAS_91]

@MoHEEgaN1 The Arab states had different aims. Jordan wanted control of the West Bank. And before their armies even entered, hundreds of thousands Palestinians had already fled or been driven from their homes, many following attacks by Zionist forces like the Haganah.

[Sam @SamAS_91]

I don't believe Israeli sides should be allowed to compete in European and international football while Palestinian footballers are being slaughtered, but the fact is they are and it isn't up to the club to police that. It's unfortunate but it is what it is. #afcb

[Bournemouth Echo Sport @BmthEchoSport]

Campaign group launches petition to call on Cherries to refuse Be'er Sheva game https://t.co/YrGUgpSD4A

[Sam @SamAS_91]

@TomJohn1975 I see, you're not actually interested in the facts.

[Sam @SamAS_91]

@TomJohn1975 250+ on record, some reports even state higher. Some whilst waiting for humanitarian aid, some killed in their own homes alongside their families. It's all very accessible information.

[Sam @SamAS_91]

@hithisiswes @OGedgeracing But if it's simply about honouring the dead, why do people get booed and abused for choosing not to wear one? Surely remembrance should be a personal choice, especially given different nations' histories? The fact people get so angry about it shows there's a political edge to it.

[Sam @SamAS_91]

@AyJayL @bionicmonkey99 But that's beside the point. Hamas fighting in civilian areas doesn't automatically justify Israel bombing them. Israel still has a duty to protect civilians, and they are clearly attacking indiscriminately. Anyway, this is drifting away from my original point about football.

[Sam @SamAS_91]

@AyJayL @bionicmonkey99 That doesn't make those civilians legitimate targets. There's still a duty to distinguish fighters from innocent people and avoid disproportionate civilian deaths.

[Sam @SamAS_91]

@bionicmonkey99 What's your source for that 40% figure? UN data shows around 47% of those killed were adult men. So you're suggesting nearly 85% of those men were fighters, which is a massive claim, especially when women, children and the elderly make up over half of all deaths.

[Sam @SamAS_91]

@bionicmonkey99 Those stats show how many adult men were killed, not how many were fighters. There's a big difference. Plenty of innocent men have been killed too. We can't just assume every man killed was Hamas.

[Sam @SamAS_91]

@MoHEEgaN1 Which part of the history? The bit in 1948 when 750,000 Palestinians fled or were forced from their homes? Or 1953 when Israeli troops killed 69 Palestinians? Or 1956 when they killed 49 civilians? Or 1967 when Israel occupied Gaza and the West Bank?

[Sam @SamAS_91]

@OGedgeracing It's literally a symbol of remembrance linked to war, it couldn't be more political.

[Sam @SamAS_91]

@CraigBPodcasts @afcbmatt237 @Yeahyou90 @BmthEchoSport Of course, rather than engage in conversation, he's just blocked me.

[Sam @SamAS_91]

@CraigBPodcasts @afcbmatt237 @Yeahyou90 @BmthEchoSport Was well documented. In particular, look up the Amsterdam trouble with Maccabi fans. This is exactly why they were banned from travelling to Aston Villa last year.

[Sam @SamAS_91]

@StevenAFCB True, although Kazakhstan is a transcontinental country with territory in Europe. They also voluntarily left the AFC to join UEFA, unlike Israel, which was expelled due to the conflict and its illegal occupation of Palestinian territories. Not entirely comparable.

[Sam @SamAS_91]

@TommaxMw That's fine to believe that, but the fact is that it 100% is in sport every single day, and people just choose which policies align the most with them. The same people who criticise this kind of thing will also lose their heads when someone refuses to wear a poppy on their shirt.

[Sam @SamAS_91]

@StevenAFCB That's your opinion but the precedent is already there with Russian clubs being banned. This is of course completely ignoring the fact that Israel aren't even a European country and are only in UEFA because AFC previously expelled them for their crimes against Palestinians.

[Sam @SamAS_91]

@TommaxMw But they already do. We hold minute silences, wear poppies, have sanctions on other countries competing, racism and LGBTQ campaigns. Politics is in everything. That's just a line people use when they don't like a particular policy.

[Sam @SamAS_91]

@MoHEEgaN1 Guess the decades of Palestinians being killed, kicked out of their homes and living under Israeli occupation just never happened then? Hamas didn't even exist for most of it. But sure, let's pretend it all started in 2023.

[Sam @SamAS_91]

@afcbmatt237 @Yeahyou90 @BmthEchoSport You can't lecture people about intimidating innocent families while ignoring the intimidation, racism and aggression documented among those travelling supporters - chanting "death to Arabs" and "there are no schools in Gaza because there are no children left".