Soccer star Ronaldo angers anti-Israel fans

Facebook post of the Portuguese icon in Israel sparks flurry of responses writing that the land is Palestine not Israel.

By ARIEL BEN SOLOMON
Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal soccer players in Israel 370 (photo credit: Courtesy of Facebook)
Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal soccer players in Israel 370
(photo credit: Courtesy of Facebook)
Portuguese soccer star, Cristiano Ronaldo, who was in Israel for a World Cup qualifying match on Friday, created an uproar on his Facebook page after posting a picture of himself and his teammates on the Tel Aviv beachfront, writing, “Great morning in Israel with my colleagues.”
The post created a flurry of responses from anti- Israel fans writing that it is Palestine, not Israel.
Mohamed Abdallah wrote, “This land of Palestine is not Israel understand.”
There were a number of pro-Israel posts both in English and Hebrew with one by David Daniel stating in Hebrew, “In the Holy Land!” As of Sunday evening, Ronaldo’s post had more than 333,000 likes and more than 12,000 shares.
In the comment section, there was a political back and forth between Israel and anti-Israel supporters.
There were also a couple of posts praising Hitler as well. Lâlmâs KÄtôûngô wrote, “Long live Hitler this land of Palestine is not Israel.”
Alaaddin Hotari, whose status states that he is a “Teacher.coach.referee,physical education at UNRWA,” wrote that “I hope that you can record your most expensive goal in Israel’s goal by greeting Palestine.”
There were also a few posts that referred to the 1973 Yom Kippur War, which some Arabs still view as a victory over Israel.
Abdalla Mahmoud wrote “egypt 1973 palestiiiiiiiiine 2014.”
Dudu Azaria wrote in response, “to remind you how 73 war ended? we won.”
Portugal and Israel played to a 3-3 draw in front of 40,000 fans at the National Stadium in Ramat Gan.