Athletic Club plan special show of support for Palestine before La Liga clash as Basque club issue 'stop the genocide' call

Athletic have announced they will hold a special pre-match ceremony to express solidarity with the Palestinian people before their La Liga fixture against Mallorca on Saturday. In an official statement on the club's website, the Basque side confirmed that a powerful message calling to "stop the genocide" will be displayed at their San Mames stadium.

The club organised a recognition ceremony that will see several honoured guests walk onto the pitch before kick-off. These include Thaljieh, the co-founder and former captain of the Palestinian women's national team and a club ambassador for its 125th anniversary, alongside a group of eleven Palestinian refugees currently residing in the Basque Country and representatives from UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees. Athletic are asking their fans to show solidarity by giving the guests a standing ovation.

The club confirmed it will use the stadium's scoreboards to broadcast a clear message of support. The statement specified the exact text that will be shown to the crowd and television audiences. "The stadium's video scoreboards will display the message that the Athletic Club Foundation wants to send to the Palestinian refugee community: ‘Athletic Palestinaren alde. Stop genozidioa’ (Athletic stands with Palestine. Stop the genocide)," the club announced.

This pre-match demonstration is part of a wider, ongoing project between the Athletic Club Foundation and UNRWA Euskadi. The collaboration, which began in October, aims to support approximately 8,000 vulnerable Palestinian refugee children in Syria by providing them with physical education classes across 16 schools managed by UNRWA. The club will also officially present the project to the media and host Thaljieh in a discussion as part of its Thinking Football Film Festival.

Following the pre-match ceremony on Saturday evening, Athletic Club's focus will turn to the pitch. Currently sitting 10th in La Liga, they face a crucial match against a struggling Mallorca side currently 19th and in the relegation zone. The hosts will be strong favourites to secure three points at San Mames after making their powerful off-field statement.