Although tiny and not as well known as the Jewish community of Ethiopia, Ghana still had a Jewish community of its own, most of whom have emigrated to Israel.
Posted on 06/19/2006 1:09:00 PM PDT by Alouette
WUERZBURG, Germany (AFP) - Ghana's World Cup team apologised after defender John Pantsil waved an Israeli flag to celebrate his team's goals.
Pantsil, who plays for Israeli club Hapoel Tel Aviv, celebrated both goals in Ghana's 2-0 win over the Czech Republic in Cologne on Saturday by pulling an Israeli flag out of his sock and waving it at the cameras.
Ghana team spokesman Randy Abbey said at the team's training base: "It was a thank you to his fans in the Israeli league.
"It was naive, he was not aware of the consequences of his actions. We apologise to everyone who felt offended by this.
"It was not an official message from the Ghanaian team. We do not represent Israeli politics or the politics of any other country. We are just here to play football."
Pantsil's action sparked a barrage of insults and furious reactions in newspapers in Egypt on Monday.
"The ignorant and stupid Pantsil, who spent 20 days in Egypt during the last African Nations Cup, plays for Hapoel," sports commentator Alaa Sadek wrote in the daily Al-Akhbar, explaining Pantsil's link to Israel.
"Egyptians supported the Ghanaian team all the way until the 82nd minute, and regretted it after the Israeli flag (waving)," screamed a bold red headline in the independent daily Al-Masry al-Yom.
The live commentator on the Arab satellite channel broadcasting all World Cup matches in the region abruptly cut short his trademark "goooaaaaaaal" when Pantsil brought out the flag.
"What are you doing, man?" the bewildered commentator said.
Some papers described 25-year-old Pantsil as a "Mossad agent", others said "an Israeli had paid him to do it" but the most elaborate theory was offered by the top-selling state-owned daily Al-Ahram.
Sports analyst Hassan el-Mestekawi said in the paper that many Ghanaian players attend football training camps set up by an Israeli coach who "discovered the treasure of African talent, and abused the poverty of the continent's children" with the ultimate goal of selling them off to European clubs.
Football's governing body FIFA said they had taken note of the flag-waving and that although there was nothing in the rules to prevent it, they hoped not to see a repetition.
Egyptian football fans were equally rattled when the player produced the Israeli flag.
"We were totally supporting Ghana and we were so excited by how well they were doing," Ashraf al-Berri told AFP.
"We were screaming with joy, but the whole room went quiet when Pantsil took out the flag. We didn't really know how to react," he said.
Another fan, Osama Mohy, told AFP: "As an Egyptian I am very sensitive when it comes to Israel."
African champions Egypt failed to qualify for the World Cup finals.
GO UKRAINE!!!
Warning! This is a high-volume ping list.
Why apologize for waving somebody's flag?
If I were Ghana I'd tell those who didn't like it to perch and rotate.
And why would a Ghana player be waving an Israeli flag?
Who knew?
As we have attacked them 3 times in their history and they keep kicking our @ss...
LMAO! Great response !
He plays for the Tel Aviv team.
Yes, we were spared the spectacle of the Saudis getting goals and then, as a group, gyrating their buttocks Heavenward!
The secret invisible Zionist ray gun that makes many American politicians support Israel misfired and hit this Ghanaian soccer player.
Although tiny and not as well known as the Jewish community of Ethiopia, Ghana still had a Jewish community of its own, most of whom have emigrated to Israel.
I'm still confused but have lost all interest.
Oh yeah...I hope the Czechs beat Italy as well.
I'm not sure, but I think it's the other way around.
Exactly! It was very Rovian :-)
At least the player understands how to escape a shit-hole - Kofi's home country. He's trying to get off the plantation, which cannot be allowed.
We need Italy to beat the Czechs for the US to have a hope of going on.
Well, I'll be...have to go back and watch that game on my "on demand" channel. Woo hoo. I was wondering on soccer-maniac's freep thread how Ghana managed a win. Now I know!
And the obvious gets lost.
To who is Ghana apologizing?
What have the Arabs/Islamics threatened?
Israel fantasizes about peace with the Arabs. George Bush has visions of two states living in side by side peace. Yet the Arab/Islamic World goes nuts at just a glimpse of the Israeli flag.
I wonder how angry they would have been if Israel had not surrendered Gaza.
Two states living side by side in peace? Hah. Two cultures living side by side in peace? Equally unlikely.
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