Oleksandr Zinchenko, the Arsenal full-back, faced backlash for his latest Instagram story, in which he showed support for Israel against the State of Palestine. The defender then followed the footprint of American influencer Kylie Jenner as a response to the criticism.
For context, HAMAS, the Palestinian group, made global headlines after firing around 5,000 rockets at Israel. Following the attack, many renowned celebrities rushed to social media to show their support for the people of Israel.
Kylie Jenner has deleted an Instagram story showing support for Israel during extreme tensions with Palestine. pic.twitter.com/msAl8MYRGQ
— Daily Loud (@DailyLoud) October 8, 2023
Kylie Jenner was among these celebrities; she shared a post in her Instagram story from a post by StandWithUs on her story. The post read, “Now and always, we stand with the people of Israel,” and asked people to reshare the post on their stories as a sign of support.
Kylie Jenner wouldn’t know where the Middle East is on a map but is letting her 400 million Instagram followers know she stands with Israel. I fear the silicone has leaked into her brain!!
— Madiha (@MadihaBlob) October 7, 2023
The post received backlash from the opposite side of the hot-button topic, which prompted her to delete her story as a reaction to the criticism. The same incident happened with Arsenal fullback Zinchenko, who uploaded a story to share the message, “I stand with Israel“.
The story received similar backlash from the soccer community. Some sections of fans pointed out that taking any side in this matter opens one to facing backlash from the opposition side. Each side has been guilty of crimes against the innocent with violent repercussions.
Greenwood aside Zinchenko is easily the most unlikeable footballer around. https://t.co/zjJmjethNK
— 天蝎座 (@UtdEIIis) October 7, 2023
Historically, Arsenal has been against its players taking an openly political stance. Back in 2020, Mesut Ozil faced some repercussions from the club when the German midfielder voiced his opinion against China’s treatment of Uighur Muslims. Fans are waiting to see if the English club takes something similar against the left back.
Oleksandr Zinchenko goes private on Instagram
Zinchenko followed Kylie Jenner by backtracking from supporting Israel. The defender first deleted the controversial Instagram story, then switched his Instagram profile from public to private.
The defender took these drastic steps to stop the onslaught of criticism from fans and save his public image from further damage. English clubs these days are focused on public perceptions of their players. Manchester United is a prime example. In the case of Mason Greenwood and Antony, the public perception and opinion of the fans were key in making decisions about the future of these players.
Zinchenko has deleted his Instagram story supporting Israel and put his account on private… pic.twitter.com/qG9bs28b4T
— george (@StokeyyG2) October 7, 2023
Manchester City also took a hard stance in the case of Benjamin Mendy. Mesut Ozil also faced the music from the London club after his public support on a hot-button topic.
Zinchenko is in the same boat as Ozil with this new political statement which puts pressure on Arsenal to take similar actions. The Ukrainian player was under the spotlight again when the Russian war broke out in Ukraine. The support from fans has switched from last time.
Arsenal are set to face off against Manchester City this weekend in the Premier League in a top-of-the-table clash. All the eyes will be on manager Mikel Arteta to see whether he starts the left back against defending champions or bench him due to his online remarks.