VIDEO: Meet the Palestinian footballing wonderkid
Italian football champions Juventus FC have signed a 10-year-old Palestinian-Norwegian player described as a wonderkid by fans.
Rashed al-Hajjawi, a Norway-born Palestinian, joined the Italian champions’ academy after visiting the Juventus Stadium in Turin, Goal.com reported.
Videos of the youngster showing his skills in youth-level games have garnered thousands of views online.
News of Juventus’s acquiring al-Hajjawi sparked debates about non-sports related issues, namely the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, on football websites.
"Blessed not only with the gift of life cruelly stolen from hundreds of thousands of his kinsmen by the Zionist plague, but also, sublime talent on the ball," one commentator wrote of al-Hajjawi on a Juventus fan blog.
Some readers disagreed with that premise.
"Would the same be mentioned if it was an Israeli boy? The people are bombed by Hamas on a weekly basis," another reader wrote in a comment.
It will be a while before the 10-year-old joins the first-team
But the future is bright for this young Palestinian.
This article is available in French on Middle East Eye French edition.
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