Proud friend of Israel

During Ghana’s celebration of its second goal against the Czech Republic today, one of its players, fullback John Pantsil, pulled a small Israeli flag from underneath his uniform and held it up. He also waved the Israeli flag during the post-match celebration.

Pantsil plays in Israel for Hapoel Tel Aviv. But nearly every starter for Ghana plays in a foreign country. I didn’t see anyone on the team pull out a Turkish, British, or Italian flag.

Given the political leanings of FIFA, the international soccer federation, Pantsil will be lucky to avoid being disciplined for his politically incorrect celebration.

UPDATE: Several readers have commented about the display of the Israeli flag. One of them, Ken Potter, sent me the link to the Jerusalem Post’s story, “From Ghana With Love.” According to the JPost, sources at Pantsil’s Israeli club say that the Ghanaian fullback had promised to show Israel’s flag if his team scored in the World Cup.

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