TYRANNY OF INJUSTICE

The tragic events in Gaza Strip echoed in the soccer fields in Ghana, which hosts the 2008 African Cup of Nations tournament, when Egyptian player Mohamed Aboutrika wore a tee shirt reading "sympathize with Gaza" in arabic and English. Aboutrika flashed the shirt after he scored his first goal in veiw of cameras and millions of spectators throughout the world which prompted the referee to slap him with yellow warning card for violating the FIFA rules which prohibit religious and political slogans during the games, although this phrase is more humanitarian than political.

Meanwhile, Aboutrika’s action drew huge public support which sympathized with the player. Arabic websites were flooded with messages of support and condemnation of the referee’s decision to punish Aboutrika.

The public was legitimately asking why Aboutrika was accused of politicizing the soccer game by simply wearing a shirt carrying a humanitarian message while Ghana soccer player John Pentsil was not punished when he waved an Israeli flag to celebrate a goal his teammates scored against Czech Republic in the 2006 World Cup, although Israel had nothing to do with the game and did not even qualify for the tournament.