Ben Miller
Friday October 20, 2023
Algeria’s football federation announced on Wednesday that it was suspending all football competitions and matches “in solidarity with the Palestinian people” during the Israel-Gaza conflict.
The governing body had previously agreed to host the Palestine national team’s forthcoming football matches following a request from the Palestinian FA.
Algeria international Riyad Mahrez, who won the Premier League title five times before joining Saudi Arabian club Al-Ahli from Manchester City in July, shared a photo on social media of himself holding the Palestinian flag on the pitch after his country’s 5-1 home friendly win over Cape Verde last Thursday.
Teammates Said Benrahma, of West Ham United, and Ahmed Touba, of Istanbul Basaksehir, joined Mahrez to hold the flag in a picture he captioned: “We want peace.”
Mahrez and Algeria shared a 1-1 draw in Abu Dhabi on Monday with Egypt, whose captain, Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah, called on “world leaders to come together to prevent further slaughter of innocent souls” on Tuesday.
