Tarik Tissoudali wore a bracelet with an image of the Palestinian flag last weekend. The attacker wanted to express his support for Palestine, which is going through a very difficult time due to the war between Israel and Hamas. After half an hour, the KAA Gent striker had to take off the armband. After the match against Anderlecht, Tissoudali stated that he did not know that wearing that band was against the rules.
Page 42 of the regulations of the Belgian Football Association (KBVB) states, among other things, that political expressions are prohibited during a match. “The equipment may not display slogans, messages or images of a political, religious or personal character.” According to rule 12 of the KBVB, the referee, in this case Jasper Vergoote, must ‘take action’ when seeing an expression that is prohibited according to the rules.
Tissoudali was not aware of any harm after the match. “I didn’t know it was forbidden,” he said Sporza. “The referee told me it wasn’t allowed, so I took it off.” The Amsterdammers stated that he thinks he is free to do what he wants. “But I stick to the referee’s words. He didn’t want it.”
“The referee said he had heard that we were wearing political symbols,” Tissoudali continued The last news. “I don’t think this is really political. This was allowed for another country and not for this,” he referred indirectly to the public support for Ukraine, which is at war with Russia.
“I can do whatever I want, right? I find it annoying that it’s not allowed. We live in a free country, right? I don’t do it because it is an Arab country, I think everyone deserves to live in peace. I am against war, against mass murder and for freedom.”
In an interview with the same medium last week, Tissoudali stated that he was concerned about the war. “I can’t just ignore that. The images touch me. Look, I don’t want to take sides in the conflict. I’m simply against war and terrorism. I hope that the people there will one day gain freedom. Every child, every person and every country deserves that.”
Tissoudali was not the only Ghent player wearing an armband with a Palestinian flag. Ismaël Kandouss also did that and just like Tissoudali, he also had to take off his bracelet from Vergoote. Sporza the KBVB asked for a response. “We follow the regulations, which say that political and religious symbols are not allowed. So for us the referee made the right decision,” spokesperson Marie Verbeke said.
The match between Ghent and Anderlecht ended in 1-1. Matisse Samoise made it 1-0 on a pass from Tissoudali. Anderlecht tied the score before half-time through a converted penalty from former Ajax player Kasper Dolberg. Thanks to the draw, Anderlecht is still second, with one point more than Ghent.
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