November 24 – A council member at the English Football Association who mentioned Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the same breath as Adolf Hitler resigned from his position on Thursday.
Wasim Haq stepped down having already been suspended over his social media post about the Israel-Hamas conflict.
The FA Council is a body with representatives from throughout football in England, from the Premier League through to grass roots organisations. Haq joined the council as a BAME Football Communities Representative in 2019.
He had been sanctioned for the post saying, ‘Adolf Hitler would be proud of Benjamin Netanyahu’, which he has since deleted.
On Thursday, Haq shared a copy of his resignation letter addressed to FA chair Debbie Hewitt.
“Recent events have left me bereft of energy and hope. I have felt overwhelmed at how this has transpired,” the letter read.
“As someone who has worked closely with many Jewish people over the years and created meaningful and valued friendships, the most painful part of this process is knowing that some of those friends and colleagues may not forgive me for the misunderstanding and hurt I have unintentionally caused.
“I take full responsibility and reiterate my apology to them and all those affected.”
Haq added that his original post was a “direct criticism of a politician”.
“In expressing these feelings, I chose the wrong words entirely and that has impacted the leadership position that I hold at The FA.”
In a statement the FA said: “We also reiterate our stance that football is about unity and not division, and we welcome his apology to the Jewish community for the unacceptable comments that he made on social media.”
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