SHAH ALAM - Egyptian squash athlete, Ali Farag has called out the double standard by western media on their coverage of Ukraine yet sweeping the issue of Palestine under the rug.
He made the statement during his victory speech after winning the Optasia Squash Championship held in London’s Wimbledon Club on Saturday (March 12).
"We all see what's going on in the world at the moment, and nobody is happy with what’s going on. No one should accept any killings in the world, any oppression," Farag said.
He added that when it came to Palestine, they (the athletes) were forced to keep their mouths sealed as they needed to keep politics out of sports, but there was no censorship to talk about what happened in Ukraine.
"We have never been allowed to speak about politics in sports but all of a sudden it’s allowed.
"I mean, the Palestinians have been going through that for the past 74 years and, well, I guess because it doesn't fit the narrative of the media of the West, we couldn't talk about it, but now that we can talk about Ukraine, we can talk about Palestinians. So please keep that in mind." he said while urging the people to stop turning a blind eye to what is happening in the world.
A video of Ali making the speech was shared online by Palestine Online@OnlinePalEng on Twitter, where netizens had praised him for his bravery to address the issue of a double standard in the media.
"Feel compelled to tip my hat to Ali Farag for not just his win tonight but also for using his platform to shed light on the injustices of the world both new and of age, namely Ukraine and Palestine. We salute you," wrote @pal_women on Twitter.
"It is suddenly allowed now, I remember there was Big Bang about England cricketer Moen Ali, he was banned by ICC for just wearing a wristband saying ‘Free Palestine’, " @Mohammw93261614 said under the video Twitter thread.
"Now the world should stop double standards against abuse of human rights,” said another Twitter user @Dr_OsmanJelle.
Last Feb 24, Russia has launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine after months of build-up near its border.
Meanwhile, there are constant reports of Israel's government actively demolishing homes and territory in Palestine for the past few decades.