8/8/2025–|Last update: 11:00 (Mecca time)
On Thursday, Daniel Theon, the coach of the Fortona Dusseldorf, at the second -division, attempted to woo the fans after the campaign against his attempt to include an Israeli player for the team.
The coach said that he tried to ignore the noise raised by his club’s failure to sign Israeli striker Sean Weissman, after mass protests against the background of the player’s publications on social media on the war in Gaza.
It was reported that the club was close to contracting the 29 -year -old from the Spanish club Granada, but he announced last Tuesday during a brief post on its platforms on social media, that despite his interest in the player, the deal will not be completed. The reason was not disclosed.
Fortona fans opposed the contract with the player in the previous days, and they referred to leaflets for him on social media dating back to 2023 around the Gaza war, which caused a stir in Spain at the time. Among them is a publication in which he explicitly called for the bombing of Gaza.
“I only focus on the sports aspects, and I only work with our players available. We have not contracted with Sean Weissman,” Theon said at a press conference.
“I can only talk about the players who supervised them, they play an important role. I was isolated from anything else.”
Thion responded to a question about the fans’ reaction to the expected transition, commenting, “I miss a striker in my squad … and frankly, I am a person who is committed to my specialist scope, my team. So, it is not logical to move in matters outside the scope of my responsibility.”
The Israeli player is trying to beautify
In an attempt to beautify, the Israeli player, Weissman, ignored his tweets that incite violence and invading Gaza in 2023, which he deleted since then, and he said on social media last Tuesday that he accepts criticism, but he did not refer to his transfer to Fortona or the criticism leveled at him from the club’s fans specifically.
“Although I accept all criticism, I feel pain for not taking into account the general context. In a moment of national and personal pain, I remained committed to the values of humanity, sportsmanship and mutual respect,” he added in a post on the X platform.
“It is possible and necessary to oppose the harm of innocent people from both sides. But I will not allow me to photograph as a person who promotes hatred with three likes and one comment, deleted immediately,” the Israeli player continued.
Israel has been launching a wildlife and air aggression for many years, for nearly two years after the Israeli Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) stormed Israeli military areas and bases near Gaza on October 7, 2023.
Health authorities in the besieged sector say that the Israeli aggression resulted in the death of more than 61,000 Palestinians, most of them children, women and the elderly.