Arsenal sponsor Lavazza hold urgent talks with the club after Mohamed Elneny’s pro-Palestine post

Arsenal sponsor Lavazza holds urgent talks with the club after Mohamed Elneny posted pro-Palestine message on social media and say it is ‘not aligned with our values’… but club insists stars are ‘entitled to their views’

  • Arsenal’s Mohamed Elneny posted a pro-Palestinian message on social media
  • Lavazza Group have voiced their concern the club is linked with such a message
  • Israel and Palestine have been involved in violent clashes in the last week 
  • Board of Deputies of British Jews official Tal Ofer called on the FA to ban Elneny 
  • Arsenal stated players are ‘entitled to express their views on their own platforms’


Arsenal’s sponsor Lavazza have reached out to the club for urgent talks after midfielder Mohamed Elneny made a pro-Palestine post on his social media.

Egyptian international Elneny, 28, posted a tweet on Monday, May 10, to his almost five million followers which read: ‘My heart and my soul and my support for you Palestine,’ followed by a picture of the Palestine flag and a peace emoji.

According to the Jewish Chronicle, the coffee group have since contacted the club to register their concern about them being linked with Elneny’s message, amid rising tensions in the Middle East.

Arsenal sponsor Lavazza Group is in contact with the club after this tweet by Mohamed Elneny

The tweet included an outline of Israel with pro-Palestine images within (shown bottom right)

The tweet included an outline of Israel with pro-Palestine images within (shown bottom right)

The news comes amid escalating tensions between Israel and Palestine in the Middle East

The news comes amid escalating tensions between Israel and Palestine in the Middle East

Israel and Palestine have been involved in horrific clashes over the last couple of weeks, with violence breaking out between Israeli police and protestors.

The ongoing conflict has been escalated after Hamas aimed missile towards Jerusalem, with Israeli forces responding by raining down on the Gaza Strip with air strikes of their own.

Elneny’s post resulted in a backlash from Arsenal’s Jewish supporters because his tweet also included an image with the text ‘Palestine Lives Matter,’ which shows an outline of Israel with pro-Palestine pictures within.

Board of Deputies of British Jews official Tal Ofer called on the FA to ban Elneny (pictured)

Board of Deputies of British Jews official Tal Ofer called on the FA to ban Elneny (pictured)

A Lavazza Group statement said: ‘We’ll immediately reach out to Arsenal to remark we are concerned about the club associated with such a message.

‘Content of this post is totally not aligned with our company values. Lavazza Group is fully committed against racism and anti-semitism.’

Board of Deputies of British Jews official Tal Ofer, who had requested a response from the Gunners sponsor, also tried to contact Adidas – but received no reply – and criticised Arsenal.

He said he was ‘sad that Arsenal did not want to deal with this more seriously, I would expect better from them than this,’ and urged the FA to suspend Elneny with ‘no ifs, no buts’.

However, Arsenal stated that players are 'entitled to express their views on their platforms'

However, Arsenal stated that players are ‘entitled to express their views on their platforms’

Arsenal told the Jewish Chronicle: ‘As with any employees of Arsenal, our players are entitled to express their views on their own platforms. 

‘That said, we are speaking to Mo about this so he understands the wider implications of his post.

‘As a club we are committed to confronting and eliminating all forms of discrimination and continue to champion the need for equality and diversity across all areas of life.’ 

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