In the wake of FC Barcelona’s 2025 La Liga title victory, a celebratory parade through the streets of the Catalan capital has sparked international controversy, after 18-year-old star winger Lamine Yamal displayed a large Palestinian flag during the open-top bus procession.
Local officials estimated that close to 750,000 fans turned out to line Barcelona’s streets on Monday, just 24 hours after the club secured its latest domestic league crown. Yamal, a rising Muslim football talent who is set to represent Spain at the upcoming men’s FIFA World Cup in North America, later shared images of himself holding the flag to his public Instagram account, where he boasts millions of followers worldwide.
The incident quickly drew sharp rebuke from Israel’s top defense official. On Thursday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz took to social media platform X to denounce Yamal’s action, framing it as a deliberate act of hate incitement amid ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. “Lamine Yamal chose to incite hate against Israel while our soldiers combat the terrorist organization Hamas, an organization that massacred, raped and burned Jewish children, women and the elderly on Oct. 7, 2023,” Katz wrote.
Yamal’s gesture comes amid longstanding, widespread criticism of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza across Spanish society and politics. Since Hamas’ October 2023 cross-border attack that triggered the conflict, Israeli military operations have killed tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza, leading to broad condemnation from the Spanish government and general public. Spain is also one of five nations that have announced a boycott of the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest, in protest of Israel’s participation in the annual competition.
The Gaza conflict has increasingly spilled over into global sports and cultural spaces, with growing public backlash against Israel’s military campaign driving high-profile protests across multiple disciplines. Last year’s Vuelta a España, one of cycling’s three Grand Tour races, faced repeated disruptions from demonstrators objecting to the inclusion of an Israeli-backed team. Football, basketball and other major sports have also seen public acts of protest from athletes echoing widespread global calls for a ceasefire and an end to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.