PSG are playing their second Champions League match this Wednesday evening in Israel, on the lawn of Maccabi Haifa.
All eyes will be on right-back Achraf Hakimi, whistled in his two games with Paris in Tel Aviv after a pro-Palestinian tweet.
Haifa is a mixed city and Maccabi probably the club in the country with the most Arab Israeli fans.
But football, the most popular sport in the world, is the receptacle is the receptacle of the tensions that are shaking the Middle East.
Achraf Hakimi could not cut the question, Saturday after the small Parisian victory over Brest in L1 (1-0) and four days before the meeting on the lawn of Maccabi Haifa, in the Champions League.
During the two Champions Trophies won by Paris Saint-Germain in Israel, on July 31 against Nantes (4-0) and a year earlier against Lille (0-1), the Moroccan international was heavily whistled in Bloomfield Stadium in Tel Aviv.
His critics made him pay for a tweet posted in May 2021, in which the former Inter Milan right-back wrote "#FreePalestine" at a time of heightened tensions in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
So, is he worried about suffering a similar fate this Wednesday in Haifa?
“I'm going to make the trip with the team, launched Hakimi in the mixed zone of the Parc des Princes.
It's no problem for me, I'll play and go home.
“Internally, PSG adopts the same attitude, and has not provided for example a personal bodyguard, unlike the Champions Trophy.
“A rather exceptional event”
A way to play down the possible hostile reception of a traditionally boiling Sammy-Ofer stadium which will fill up with more than 30,000 spectators, including 1,500 Parisian fans expected in the visitor parking lot.
We did write "possible", because according to Kévin Veyssière, "the whistles against Hakimi during this match were a rather exceptional event".
For the founder of the remarkable FC Geopolitics site, everything is necessarily a question of context.
"In Tel Aviv, there were whistles because the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was starting up again at that time, and it is always one of the first cities affected when there is a resumption of high-intensity conflict" , deciphers the former parliamentary collaborator, who is developing his business as a consultant in the geopolitics of sport.
"Haifa is located further north, with greater diversity and greater openness," he continues.
And then, the Champions Trophy was a gala match, with no stakes for the Israelis in the stands.
This time, the supporters will be there more to encourage their team than to whistle an opponent.
»
Talking about the fervor of the public is not a simple facility of language when talking about Maccabi Haifa, capable of attracting 3,000 supporters despite the distance and the price of the trip during the opening of the C1, September 6 in Lisbon (Benfica win, 2-0).
"It's one of the most popular teams in the country, and obviously, because of the city's population [280,000 inhabitants, of which about 20% are Israeli Arabs], it has a lot of Arab supporters," Omer confirms. Einhorn.
This 33-year-old dentist, now based in Tel Aviv, is a fan of the Greens, who have snatched their 13th and 14th national titles over the past two seasons (only Hapoel Tel-Aviv does better with 25 titles).
"Sammy-Ofer is the best stadium in the country, without a doubt," continues the thirty-something Israeli.
The fans are really exceptional but politics is not our thing at all.
»
“I am not very optimistic”
And yet, unlike Kévin Veyssière, Omer Einhorn does not rule out a hostile reception reserved for Hakimi.
"I haven't read anything specific about it, but it is certainly possible that he is booed", judges the one who also hosts a podcast around football with friends.
Michael Vincendet, who officiates on the Sport 5 channel, holder of the C1 rights in Israel, also fears a few whistles.
But he insists that Maccabi Haifa supporters do not see their stadium as a political platform.
“This is not at all the case, assures this perfect French speaker.
The political derby is Hapoel Tel-Aviv [marked on the left, “Hapoel” meaning “worker” in Hebrew] against Beitar Jerusalem [known for its fans close to the nationalist right], especially at election time.
This is truly one of the hottest matches.
»
On the side of the Sammy-Ofer stadium, it's hot too, but when it comes to pushing behind French teammates Pierre Cornud and Dylan Batubinsika (formed at PSG for the record).
“It's been madness for several years, even when the club had difficult years, eight or nine years ago, asserts Michael Vincendet.
With the green jerseys, it also reminds Saint-Etienne.
All of Europe will discover this fervor.
»
Maccabi supporters support both Jewish and Arab Israeli players like this Mohammed Abu Fani or Mahmoud Jaber (currently injured).
"The top scorer in the history of the club is Zahi Armeli [a Christian Arab] in the years 1980-90", continues the journalist, who will be present Wednesday evening for the reunion with PSG, 24 years after the Parisian elimination in Cup of Cups.
“The championship is more and more open, but it is true in both directions, judge Kévin Veyssière, of FC Geopolitics.
In 2020, Diaa Sabia became the first Israeli footballer to play in an Arab league, at Al-Nasr [Dubai club].
This event came to materialize the resumption of diplomatic relations between Israel and its Arab neighbors, in particular with the Abraham Accords.
Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates have recognized Israel.
It's ongoing with Sudan and Morocco, and even with Saudi Arabia, relations are warming up because, finally, these countries have realized that they have a common enemy in the region, the 'Iran.
»
This does not always prevent incidents in Israeli stadiums even in Haifa, where Munas Dabbur was booed just a year ago when he scored and contributed to the victory of the selection over Austria (5-2) in the World Cup qualifiers.
The Israeli Arab striker, who retired from international duty last July, posted a message in May 2021 condemning the Israeli army's raids on the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, during the same outbreak of violence. which had made Hakimi react.
Lionel Messi in the eye of the storm in 2018
"As soon as the conflict is reignited, this question also comes to the fore in football because it is the sport with the most media coverage and the most popular", observes Kévin Veyssière.
The cancellation under Palestinian pressure of the Israel-Argentina friendly match in June 2018 perfectly illustrates these remarks, while the tension in the region had risen several notches six months a few weeks after the death of a hundred Palestinians killed by Tsahal in the Gaza Strip.
Due to his popularity, Lionel Messi found himself despite himself in the eye of the storm.
To put pressure on Argentina, the president of the Palestinian football federation had asked the PSG star, then at Barça, "not to participate in the whitewashing of the crimes of the [Israeli] occupation", under penalty of " burn” jerseys from the Pulga.
No such threat this time to Hakimi.
Sport
PSG: Galtier concerned about lack of defenders after Kimpembe injury
Sport
PSG: Kylian Mbappé's new contract is actually for two years (and another optional)
Sport
Soccer
Paris-Saint-Germain (PSG)
Champions League
Israel
Israelo-Palestinian conflict