Madrid: Spanish footballer Hector Bellerin spoke about how the hyper-centric focus on the Ukraine war, carries a bit of racism in classifying the pain of others.
The 27-year-old said in an interview with La Media Inglesia, “It is difficult to see that we are more interested in this war than in other wars.”
He continued that what is happening in Palestine and Yemen, and the interest in what is happening there has declined, and said, “The interest in the war in Palestine has subsided, and no one is talking about what is happening there or in Yemen and Iraq. Now Russia will not play in the World Cup because of things that have happened. It has been in other countries for many years.”
“It also reflects a lack of empathy for the number of lives are lost in many conflicts and we only give importance to those who are close to us (Ukraine),” the former Arsenal player added, criticizing turning a blind eye and ignoring other conflicts and focusing on one version of events.
On March 17, Bellerin had posted on his Twitter account, “We must be aware and educate ourselves about the other conflicts that are taking place around us, the amount of pain that other countries are going through, and what is happening with the violation of human rights and the loss of loved ones and their security.”
Hector Bellerin is famous for his great frankness in the political field, as he does not hesitate to express his opinion even if it contradicts expectations. In 2019, he addressed hurtful words to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, during the election period.
On Friday, March 11, 2022, the Egyptian Ali Farag, winner of the Optacia squash championship, expressed his support for the Palestinian cause, denouncing the violations against the Palestinians at the hands of the Israeli forces, and implicitly calling for support for the Palestinian cause similar to Western support for Ukraine.
This came in a speech during his honoring of winning the championship hosted by the British capital, London, from March 6 to 11.
The former Egyptian football star, Mohamed Aboutrika, also called on the International Football Association, to impose sanctions on Israel, similar to the decisions taken by “FIFA” and its European counterpart, “UEFA” against Russia and its clubs.
“Because it has been occupied and has been killing children and women in Palestine for years, but you use double standards,” Aboutrika referred in his tweet to the FIFA account in Arabic.
Russia has been at war with Ukraine for more than 3 weeks, and this has caused successive sanctions targeting Russian athletes and local sports federations.
