Two Villarreal players ignore minute of silence for Israeli victims against Maccabi Haifa

Two of Villarreal’s players neglected to respect the minute of silence held for victims of Hamas attack on Israeli citizens ahead of their match with Maccabi Haifa.

The match was held in Larnaka, Cyprus, due to the conflict, and Maccabi had informed Villarreal and UEFA they would be holding a minute of silence for the victims of the October 7th attack. Villarreal had said that their players would be respecting victims on both sides of the Gaza strip conflict, as per Diario AS, but Aissa Mandi and Ilias Akhomach decided to leave the Villarreal line due to the fact the home side were not honouring the lives of the innocent Palestinian people who had been murdered.

The conflict has become a controversial issue within the European football community, with some leagues and players choosing only to honour victims on one side of the conflict. Anwar El Ghazi was recently sacked by Mainz for not backing down on comments condemning Israeli attacks.