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The Football Association has been criticised by Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer for the \u201cextremely disappointing\u201d decision not to light up the Wembley arch in the colours of the Israeli flag before Friday\u2019s friendly between England and Australia.<\/p>\n
Following attacks by Hamas militants on the country\u2019s territory last weekend, the British Government had written to UK sports bodies encouraging them to mark events in Israel appropriately.<\/p>\n
The Hamas attacks have led to the Israeli government responding with airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, with a ground invasion also reported to be a possibility.<\/p>\n
Ahead of Friday\u2019s friendly between England and Australia at Wembley, the FA announced players would wear black armbands and that a period of silence would be observed instead to remember the victims of the conflict.<\/p>\n
The FA also confirmed flags, replica kits and other representations of nationality beyond those related to England or Australia would not be allowed inside Wembley on Friday.<\/p>\n
Frazer said she was left \u201cextremely disappointed\u201d by the decision not to light up the Wembley arch in colours of the Israeli flag. The arch had previously been was lit in yellow and blue in an expression of solidarity with Ukraine following Russia\u2019s invasion.<\/p>\n
The Board of Deputies of British Jews also criticised the FA statement \u2013 pointing out that it made \u201cno mention of the mass terrorist murders of hundreds of innocent Israelis last Saturday\u201d.<\/p>\n
The Culture Secretary criticised the FA\u2019s stance in a post on social media on Thursday evening.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am extremely disappointed by the FA\u2019s decision not to light up the Wembley Stadium arch following last weekend\u2019s horrific terrorist attacks in Israel, and have made my views clear to the FA,\u201d Frazer wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is especially disappointing in light of the FA\u2019s bold stance on other terrorist attacks in the recent past. Words and actions matter. The Government is clear: we stand with Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n
England manager Southgate was asked for his thoughts on the FA\u2019s stance at Thursday\u2019s pre-match press conference ahead of the Australia game, and accepted it was \u201cone of the most complex situations in the world\u201d.<\/p>\n
Southgate said: \u201cFirstly (there have been) incredibly harrowing pictures. (Our) thoughts and feelings are to everybody who has suffered, who have lost relatives and friends in these attacks. It is incredibly disturbing to see.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn a broader scale, in my lifetime it is one of the most complex situations in the world and I think everybody is grappling with how best to deal with that.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know what it is like to walk in the shoes of people on either side of that conflict. What I do know is people at the FA will have consulted with everybody they possibly can and will have tried to make the best decision with good intentions.<\/p>\n
\u201cClearly whatever decision they came to would have been criticised in one way or another, so I also recognise how difficult it was for them. I wasn\u2019t involved in those discussions, (but) they went on for a long time I know.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey (FA) have decided to take the stance they have and we will get on with that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Teams in the EFL and Premier League will pay tribute to the victims of the conflict in their next rounds of matches.<\/p>\n
There will also be a period of silence ahead of kick-off at the weekend\u2019s matches in the Women\u2019s Super League, Women\u2019s Championship and Women\u2019s National League to \u201cremember the innocent victims of the devastating events in Israel and Palestine.\u201d<\/p>\n
The England and Wales Cricket Board released a statement on Thursday which read: \u201cWe deplore the appalling loss of innocent life following recent events in Israel and Palestine.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of all the innocent victims, and those who are still missing, as well as the communities who are affected.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile sport seems trivial compared to the harrowing scenes we have all watched, it is also an opportunity for people to come together and remind ourselves that there\u2019s far more that brings us together, than divides us. We should now all unify in our hope for peace.\u201d<\/p>\n
England cricketer Moeen Ali has deleted an Instagram post featuring the Palestinian flag and a quote from Malcolm X.<\/p>\n
Moeen then put up a new post, without the flag but containing the same Malcolm X quote: \u201cIf you\u2019re not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed and loving the people who are doing the oppressing.\u201d<\/p>\n
The International Olympic Committee said its executive board members had \u201cexpressed their very strong feelings over these tragic events in the recent days\u201d at the start of Thursday\u2019s meeting in Mumbai and \u201cexpress their deepest sympathy with the innocent victims of this terrible violence\u201d.<\/p>\n