It has been brought to my attention that a tweet I published yesterday has caused offence. I have deleted the tweet and apologise unreservedly to anyone that has felt offended.
British Tennis Association sacks council member for saying "Hitler would be proud of Netanyahu"
OtherThursday, 16 November 2023 at 15:30
Wasim Haq (55) was removed from the council by the British Tennis Association (LTA) after a post on social media about the Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip, in which he said that Hitler would be proud of the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu (74).
Haq was appointed to the council in March 2021 to advocate for inclusion and diversity in the community. Over the weekend, the 55-year-old posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, writing that "Netanyahu has sacrificed his own people to keep his power... while the Palestinians try to keep their sanity. Adolf Hitler would be proud of Benjamin Netanyahu."
Haq proceeded to delete his post the following day and apologized: "It has been brought to my attention that a tweet I published yesterday has caused offence. I have deleted the tweet and apologise unreservedly to anyone that has felt offended," he wrote.
Haq removed from LTA and suspended from FA
The LTA has since announced that Haq has been removed from his role. He has also been suspended from the English Football Association (FA) council, which he had joined in 2019 as a BAME football communities representative.
"The LTA Board has discussed this matter today and has concluded that the tweet posted by Wasim Haq on November 11 was unacceptable and in no way reflects the position or values of the LTA. The Board has therefore decided to remove Wasim Haq from his role as an Independent Council Member with immediate effect," the LTA said in a statement.
The FA is also investigating Haq's case, as the chairman of the Football Regulatory Authority, Lord Wolfson KC, emphasized: "Using the language of Nazism to attack Jews or Israel is one of the examples of anti-Semitism cited by the IHRA (International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance) and the FA. This is something that needs to be treated with the utmost seriousness."
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