Paul Pogba, Amad Diallo display Palestine flag after Man United match

Paul Pogba and Manchester United team-mate Amad Diallo held up a Palestine flag on the Old Trafford pitch after Tuesday’s 1-1 draw against Fulham.

United midfielder Pogba appeared to be given the flag by a fan as the players made their way around the pitch during the traditional lap of honour after their last home game of the Premier League season.

The duo’s public display of support for Palestine on Tuesday came as Israel continued its relentless bombardment of the Gaza Strip, which has killed at least 219 Palestinians, including 63 children, and wounded more than 1,500 people since it began on May 10. Twelve people in Israel have died, including two children, by rocket fire from Gaza, while at least 300 Israelis have been wounded.

French World Cup winner Pogba and Ivorian winger Diallo, both Muslim, displayed the flag in support of Palestine, with around 10,000 fans watching on after coronavirus restrictions were lifted.

Israel’s intense bombing campaign on Gaza has killed 213 Palestinians, including 61 children, and wounded more than 1,400 people in Gaza in over a week of fighting against Islamist group Hamas, according to the health ministry in Gaza.

The death toll on the Israeli side rose to 12 when a volley of rockets fired by Hamas killed two Thai nationals working in southern Israel.

“Pray for Palestine,” Pogba wrote on Instagram after the match, in a post accompanied by a photo showing him carrying the Palestinian flag. “Let’s keep our world safe and free from violence.”

Other famous football players to have posted solidarity messages on social media for Palestinians in recent days include Fenerbahce’s Mesut Ozil, Inter Milan’s Achraf Hakimi, Manchester City’s Riyad Mahrez, Schalke’s Shkodran Mustafi, Fiorentina’s Franck Ribery and Arsenal’s Mohamed Elneny.