Spanish football star Lamine Yamal has been hailed as “a very brave boy” for waving the Palestinian flag in Barcelona’s open-top bus parade following their La Liga championship win.

The 18-year-old held and waved a large Palestine flag as the newly crowned Spanish champions interacted with the thousands of Barca fans lined up on the streets in the Catalan capital on Monday, hours after their 2-0 El Clasico triumph over Real Madrid sealed their second consecutive first division league title.

Yamal, who looked relaxed as he stood along the rail on the right-hand side of the bus, missed Sunday’s fixture due to an injury, but joined his teammates in the champions’ parade the following day.

Video clips of his apparent act of support for the people of Palestine immediately went viral on social media, with football fans, experts, activists, and players praising the teenage icon.

“To some, it may look like a simple gesture, but here in Gaza, it reaches the heart in ways words cannot describe,” wrote Muhammed Akram, a Palestinian student in Gaza.

“Thank you, Lamine Yamal. From Gaza, you are loved more than you know.”

‘Bravo Lamine Yamal’

Palestine’s flag has been raised by protesters and pro-Palestine activists in hundreds of cities worldwide over the past two and a half years. It is seen by many as an act of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, who have been facing the wrath of the Israeli genocide against them since October 7, 2023, when the Palestinian group Hamas attacked Israel.

Israel has killed more than 72,740 Palestinians since October 2023, of whom 854 were killed during a so-called “ceasefire” that was signed last October.

While the frequency of pro-Palestine protests has dropped since the “ceasefire” came into effect, activists have continued to raise the Palestinian flag in large public gatherings, such as sports events and celebrations.

Yamal, too, used the mass celebration in Barcelona to show his support for Palestine, and some activists believe he has done more to raise awareness for the cause with one act than many others.

“When you have a platform, use it,” wrote Lebanese political activist and writer Dyab Abou Jahjah. “When you have a voice, speak out. Bravo Lamine Yamal,” he added.

Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick said he spoke to Yamal about the incident.

“I spoke with him [Yamal] and told him: ‘If you want to do that, it’s your decision, you’re old enough,’” the German coach told the media on Tuesday.

Following the celebrations, the Spanish forward posted a photo of himself with the Palestinian flag, along with others from the event, on his Instagram account.

Yamal has 44.2 million followers on the social media platform, where his post was liked by 5.3 million users and had more than 100,000 shares.

Prominent Palestinian writer and poet Mosab Abu Toha commented on Yamal’s post, saying, “We love you, from Gaza.”

The Barca striker’s British teammate Marcus Rashford and Dutch footballer Anwar El Ghazi were among the 166,000 people to comment on his post, which comprised seven photos.

Gesture ‘highlights the bond between Catalonia and Palestine’

The Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which was launched in 2005 to advocate for Palestinian rights and end Israel’s occupation in Palestinian territory, also appreciated Yamal’s heroics.

“Thanks for this gesture full of humanity,” the movement’s Spanish account tweeted. “Sport has the power to make visible what the world must not forget.”

Palestinian football expert Bassil Mikdadi said Yamal highlighted the true spirit of Barcelona football club.

“Over the past two decades, FC Barcelona has morphed into a hyper-commercialised entity,” he wrote on X. “First came the shirt sponsorship, then the stadium naming rights, and then the palancas. Lamine Yamal shows what the club and its fans are really about.”

Meanwhile, a number of pro-Israel social media users attacked Yamal and said he “should never don the Spain shirt” and that his actions should be enough to ensure he does not win the prestigious Ballon d’Or award despite his on-field performance for club and country.

Others, though, praised him for not worrying about the consequences and standing up for the oppressed.

“Lamine Yamal raising the Palestinian flag is a powerful gesture of solidarity and human dignity,” said Barcelona-based academic and activist Neus Torbisco Casals.

“It’s a reminder that sport can also be a voice against genocide, oppression, and in favour of peoples’ freedom,” she continued in a long post on X.

“A very brave Catalan boy for speaking out when there are a thousand pressures to stay silent. These gestures can inspire millions of people around the world.

“Many people have highlighted the bond between Catalonia and Palestine because we share the same aspiration to exercise universal collective human rights: the right to self-determination, to preserve identity, language, culture, and to live without domination inspired by colonialism or, in the case of Palestine, racial apartheid.

“True solidarity rejects domination in all its forms and defends the equality and dignity of all peoples, not just states. The struggle against oppression is universal: when a people defends its freedom and dignity, it also speaks for all peoples who resist injustice. Bravo Lamine.”

Yamal, a Muslim whose father moved from Morocco to Spain, has previously spoken out against racism and Islamophobia in Spanish football.

Last month, he slammed the anti-Muslim fan chants heard in Spain’s friendly match against Egypt and issued a strong statement on his social media accounts.

“I am a Muslim. Yesterday at the stadium, the chant ‘The one who doesn’t jump is the Muslim’ was heard,” he posted.

“I know I was playing for the rival team, and it wasn’t something personal against me, but as a Muslim person, it doesn’t stop being disrespectful and something intolerable.”

Yamal has scored 30 goals in more than 100 appearances for Barcelona and six in 25 caps for his national team.

The prodigious player has garnered a wide following globally and has many fans in Palestine, from where the outpouring of love for his gesture continued hours after the viral video clips first emerged.

“Just 14 seconds … yet they were enough to make me burst into tears,” wrote Haitham el-Masri, a Palestinian student from Gaza.

“One moment that will remain forever in history, remembered as one of the most deeply human moments witnessed by the world,” he went on to add.

I cannot fully describe what we felt seeing people who still have the courage to speak the truth, and to stand beside a people enduring one of the most horrific genocides in modern history.

Thank you to everyone who supported us, everyone who spoke for us, everyone who refused to stay silent and chose humanity instead.

You cannot imagine how much this love, this care, and this solidarity mean to us… the feeling that we still matter in this world.

From the heart of Gaza…
Thank you from the depths of our hearts.
Thank you for making us feel that we are not alone.”