Liverpool forward Mo Salah has criticised UEFA for not revealing how a footballer known as “Palestinian Pele” died as it paid tribute to him in a social media post.
The Palestine Football Association said on Wednesday that Suleiman al Obeid, 41, was killed by an “Israeli airstrike targeting civilians” while he waited for humanitarian aid in the southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday.
In a brief post on the social media platform X on Friday, UEFA called the former national team member “a talent who gave hope to countless children, even in the darkest of times”.
Salah, an Egyptian forward who is a devout Muslim, responded: “Can you tell us how he died, where, and why?”
UEFA has told Sky Sports it will not be commenting on the Liverpool footballer’s post.
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Salah, one of the Premier League’s biggest stars, is arguably the most prominent Arab sportsman in the world.
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He has previously advocated for humanitarian aid to be allowed into Gaza in the nearly two-year-old war.
The United Nations says more than 1,000 people have been killed near aid distribution sites and aid convoys in Gaza since the launch of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a US and Israel-backed aid distribution system, in late May.
In a tribute on its website, the Palestine Football Association said al Obeid had two sons and three daughters.
It added that the footballer was born in Gaza City and played for clubs based in both Gaza and the West Bank.
