Villarreal have come in for heavy criticism from their fans this summer for the signing of Thomas Partey, after the Ghanaian midfielder left Arsenal on a free, despite being accused of five counts of rape and two counts of sexual assault. The Yellow Submarine have also been met with a visceral reaction after the signing of Tottenham Hotspur winger Manor Solomon.
The 26-year-old winger has arrived on a loan deal from Spurs for the coming season, a final deadline day signing for Villarreal. After losing Yeremy Pino to Crystal Palace and Karl Etta Eyong to Levante, Villarreal have brought in Solomon and Georges Mikautadze to reinforce their attack.
Solomon, an Israeli international on 44 occasions, has in the past shown his support for the Israeli invasion of the Gaza strip, which is currently in the International Court of Justice for a potential genocide case. He has also accused terrorist group Hamas of firing rockets on Gazan hospitals, which has been disputed by media without ties to Israeli.
As noted by Marca, Solomon has been a regular target of anti-semitic abuse, both online and in stadiums in England, while on loan at Leeds United. He has also been accused of supporting genocide.
The Villarreal post announcing his arrival was met with a flood of comments accusing him Solomon of being a zionist, and Palestine flags. One of the top posts under it suggested sarcastically that they should next be targeting the great grandchild of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, referencing Cremonese player Romano Mussolini.
“In winter, you have to sign Mussolini’s grandson, since they can’t hate us any more than they already do.”
Others saw less humour in the matter, noting that the club’s moral compass has gone.
“See everything they’re saying about us, right, Villarreal CF? And justifiably. Congratulations, this is what you’ve achieved. It’s what happens when values don’t exist or are made of cardboard. You must be happy.”
Some have also pointed out that there are those within the Villarreal squad that have expressed support for the Palestinian cause, amidst the mounting death toll on Israeli hands. While Aissa Mandi is no longer at the club, Ilias Akhomach was one of two players who decided not to respect a minute of silence ahead of their clash with Israeli side Maccabi Haifa in the Europa League two years ago, as Maccabi were not respecting victims on both side of the ‘conflict’.