Police are attempting to track down a Manchester United fan who was photographed wearing a team shirt with ‘Hamas 7’ printed on the back.
The man was photographed walking near Oxford Circus tube station in central London at the weekend, ahead of Manchester United’s victory over Manchester City in the FA Cup final.
A Jewish man who was “very offended” by the shirt took the picture and showed it to the police, who have now launched a hunt for the wearer.
The photographer said:
“I was walking to collect some shoes and saw this guy, I thought it was pretty unbelievable – no one was reacting or seemed to notice.
“I followed him for about two minutes and took photos, I think he was aware I was taking photos of him but didn’t seem to care.”
“The shirt was a Manchester United shirt and looked to be newly printed.
“Wearing the name of a terrorist organisation is really shocking,
“I was very offended, especially as the number 7 could have been in reference to the October 7 attacks.”
It does seem pretty outrageous and provocative, to be fair. Unless… ‘Hamas’ is the man’s surname? There are only so many ways to rearrange the 26 letters of the alphabet before you get repeated names and words, and it’s certainly possible that this man’s surname just happens to be the same as a Palestinian political/military movement/terrorist organisation/however you want to look at it.
OK, that doesn’t quite explain the ‘7’, which could either be in reference to October 7 or the man’s favourite Manchester United 7-wearer; David Beckham, Cristiano Ronaldo, or, um, Mason Mount?
Having checked, the name Hamas is a surname (163764th most common in the world, typically found in Yemen and North Africa), so I suppose it’s something to consider before this poor bloke ends up being tasered for no reason other than putting his surname on the back of a football shirt like millions of others around the world.
My gut feeling is that this guy is making a ‘political’ statement, but it’s best to be sure we’re not interpreting something in the worst possible way without first being aware of the facts, which is something we do all too often in the UK.
For what it’s worth, the perceived crime would be ‘Inviting support for a proscribed organisation – such as Hamas – or recklessly expressing support for one’. which is a criminal offence under Section 12 of the Terrorism Act. Who’s to say if it’s really that deep or if this guy is just trying to troll, offend and provoke people? I guess that’s up to the police and courts to decide.
For the QPR mascot who has been sacked after claims he ‘flirted with female fans on matchdays’, click HERE.
