The football club flew an "End the occupation of Palestine" banner in 2022
English club Forest Green Rovers reaffirms support for Palestine
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- The club says its stance is "about respect for human rights and international law," not politics, race, or religion, and calls staying silent "immoral."
Forest Green Rovers, the National League club, has published a lengthy statement Wednesday setting out the reasoning behind its public support for the Palestinian people and its decision to fly the Palestinian flag at matches.
Titled "Our Position on Palestine," the statement was released via the club's official channels, opening with a direct explanation of intent: "This is our position on Palestine. Why we speak out in support of the Palestinian people and why we fly the national flag of Palestine. Why we call for a Free Palestine. And why necessarily we criticise the actions of the state of Israel."
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The club was explicit that its stance should not be read as a political, ethnic or religious position.
"It's about respect for human rights and international law," the statement reads, adding: "We see a great crime in progress, the abuse of an entire nation of people. We consider keeping quiet in such circumstances to be immoral."
Forest Green went on to stress:
"What it's not about is politics, race, or religion. Our support for the Palestinian people - is not and never can be anti-Jewish”
Anticipating criticism, the statement pre-emptively rejects the idea that discussing the conflict is inherently political:
"These are not political issues either, not issues of left or right, they are matters of morality, human rights and of international law. We believe we have a duty to speak about them. It is for others to decide to speak out or not. But it is not for others to decide if we should speak out or not."
Forest Green Rovers, owned by green energy entrepreneur Dale Vince, has flown the Palestinian flag at its New Lawn stadium on previous occasions since 2022 and has previously pledged to boycott kit supplier Puma over its sponsorship of the ‘Israel’ Football Association.
The club's latest statement represents its most detailed public explanation yet of the reasoning behind that activism.
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