A member of the Football Association’s top decision-making body representing minority ethnic communities has said: “Adolf Hitler would be proud of Benjamin Netanyahu.”
The FA told Sky News that FA Council member Wasim Haq has now apologised for causing offence and deleted the comment on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), about Israel’s war with Hamas.
But a barrister with a leading FA role told Sky News that further action was required with a formal investigation into the council member representing black, Asian and minority ethnic communities.
Writing on X, Mr Haq said of the Israeli prime minister on Saturday: “Netanyahu has sacrificed his own people to maintain power…whilst #Palestinians are trying to maintain their sanity. Adolf Hitler would be proud of Benjamin Netanyahu.”
There was no immediate response from an attempt to contact Mr Haq.
After being contacted for comment, an FA spokesperson told Sky News: “He has deleted the tweet and apologised for causing offence.”
But there were calls for an investigation by the barrister who runs the FA body monitoring compliance with rules and disciplinary matters in football.
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Lord Wolfson, chair of the FA’s Football Regulatory Authority, told Sky News: “Taking down the tweet and apologising is the minimum. That is necessary but it plainly can’t be a sufficient response.
“Using the language of Nazism to attack Jewish or Israel is one of the examples of antisemitism by the IHRA (International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance), and the FA adopted the IHRA in January 2021.
“I’ve asked (FA chair) Debbie Hewitt for a formal and urgent investigation. It is something to be treated with the utmost seriousness.”
The FA’s response to the war was criticised by Jewish and Israeli groups following its decision against lighting up the Wembley arch in the colours of the Israeli flag after the Hamas massacres on 7 October.
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The FA held a silence before England’s match against Australia last month “to remember the innocent victims of the devastating events in Israel and Palestine”.
Mr Haq joined the FA Council as a “BAME Football Communities Representative” in January 2019.
He also has roles with the Lawn Tennis Association and England Golf. There was no immediate comment from those sports governing bodies.
