The Guardian reports that a local football association asked an amateur club to remove Palestine corner flags that led to their under-eights match being called off on Sunday.
According to the report, the Queens Park Crescents team (QPCFC ) claimed that they “had approval to display the flags when they hosted Wixams Wanderers.” The game, which was under the jurisdiction of the Bedfordshire Football Association was cancelled after a parent whose child plays for Wixams Wanderers asked for the flags to be removed before the game started.
The parent, who is Jewish and Israeli, told representatives from the opposing team that the display made him and his child feel uncomfortable. It was reported that the QPCFC coaches took the flags down, but another member of club staff put them up again a short while later. QPCFC officials said they had been given permission from the local football association to display the Palestinian flags.
Wixams decided to walk away in solidarity with their player and have not commented on the incident.
QPCFC said on X that the cancellation gave them an “opportunity to highlight the gravity of the situation” in Gaza.
Antisemitism campaigners were made aware of the issue on Monday and a figure involved in tackling antisemitism said no permission was given to use Israel and Palestine flags at any English football games since the terror attacks by Hamas on 7 October.
According the Guardian, the Football Association said: “We want children to be able to play football in a safe and welcoming environment. We have been made aware of the incident at the weekend and we will be contacting the club to ask them to remove these corner flags for future matches.”