How the Egyptian National Team Became the Target of a Digital Campaign After Raising the Palestinian Flag

The debate following Egypt’s victory over Australia at the 2026 FIFA World Cup extended far beyond football. Images of Egyptian players celebrating while raising the Palestinian flag became the focus of a coordinated digital campaign led by Western right-wing and Israeli-aligned accounts, which recycled political and religious narratives targeting the team and its players.

Misbar’s analysis at Al Araby TV found that the campaign did not target Egypt alone. Morocco’s national team was also subjected to similar attacks, with narratives linking Arab national teams to Palestine, Islamic identity, and allegations of religious discrimination in an effort to transform a sporting achievement into a political and cultural battleground.

Engagement Patterns

Analysis of online engagement over approximately 10 days revealed a sharp escalation in hostile rhetoric toward Egypt’s national team following its victory and qualification for the next round. What initially began as widespread celebration of a sporting achievement quickly shifted into a politically and culturally polarized debate driven by Western right-wing accounts alongside Israeli and pro-Israel users.

The analysis recorded more than 2 million posts mentioning Egypt’s national team, published by approximately 1 million accounts. After filtering the dataset, Misbar identified a concentrated wave of nearly 200,000 hostile posts generated or amplified by roughly 111,000 accounts.

Examination of the participating accounts identified two primary clusters. The first consisted of Western right-wing accounts displaying symbols such as the U.S. and British flags, MAGA and America First slogans, and Christian religious imagery. The second comprised Israeli and pro-Israel accounts using the Israeli flag and identifiers including Proud Zionist and Yisrael Chai.

English overwhelmingly dominated the discussion, alongside several European languages, indicating that the campaign primarily targeted Western audiences.

Geographical analysis showed that most participating accounts were based in the United States, followed by several European countries, as well as Israel or pro-Israel networks, demonstrating that the campaign extended well beyond the Arab online sphere.

The Campaign’s Narratives

Keyword analysis showed that criticism focused less on Egypt’s football performance than on political, religious, and identity-based narratives. Frequently used terms included Gaza, Palestine, Israel, Muslim, Palestinian flag, Coptic Christians, and Quranic passages, illustrating how the discussion rapidly shifted from football to issues of religion, identity, and Palestine.

The first narrative centered on Palestine and Gaza. Raising the Palestinian flag during the match, together with comments by Egypt’s coach expressing solidarity with Palestinians, prompted attacks from Israeli and pro-Israel accounts. Rather than treating the gesture as symbolic support, these accounts promoted narratives blaming Egypt over its border with Gaza, recycling claims about the border barrier and alleged restrictions on Palestinians leaving the enclave to counter expressions of solidarity with Palestine.

The second narrative focused on the players’ religious practices. Western right-wing accounts widely circulated footage of Egyptian players performing prostration (sujood) and reciting Al-Fatiha before the match, portraying these ordinary religious rituals as evidence of the "Islamization" of football or the exploitation of religion for sporting success. Expressions such as Quranic passages, Secret to Victory, and Allah’s wrath were used to ridicule and provoke anti-Muslim sentiment.

The third narrative revolved around allegations of religious discrimination within Egypt’s national team. Campaign participants claimed that Coptic Christians were absent from—or prevented from joining—the national team, using phrases such as Coptic Christians, Egyptian Coptic Christian, and part of the national team. These claims sought to portray the squad as religiously biased despite the absence of evidence supporting such allegations.

Together, these themes demonstrate that the campaign was not merely a reaction to a football match. Instead, it relied on an integrated narrative framework beginning with Palestine, extending through Islam and religious identity, and ending with accusations of discrimination and racism. In doing so, the campaign attempted to strip Egypt’s victory of its sporting significance and recast it as an opportunity to amplify anti-Arab and anti-Muslim political and cultural messaging.

Accounts That Amplified the Campaign

Network analysis showed that several accounts leading attacks against Egypt’s national team had also targeted Morocco’s national team and supporters. This overlap suggests the campaign extended beyond a single incident, reflecting a broader effort to target Arab teams, particularly when their World Cup presence became associated with Palestine or Islamic identity.

Among the most prominent far-right figures was Dr. Maalouf, who attacked both the Egyptian and Moroccan teams while promoting claims about the religious practices of Egyptian players and narratives related to Egypt’s border with Gaza.

Tommy Robinson, one of Britain's most prominent far-right activists, also attacked supporters of both teams, linking their celebrations to narratives portraying them as symbols of disorder and unrest.

Within the same ecosystem, Imtiaz Mahmood, known for anti-Muslim and anti-immigration rhetoric, criticized Egypt’s team after the Palestinian flag was raised while promoting claims concerning Egypt’s border with Gaza.

The account Kosher likewise amplified these narratives, while Belgian far-right activist Steven Arrazola de Oñate repeated similar claims in Dutch, again focusing on Egypt’s border with Gaza.

Israeli Accounts

Israeli and pro-Israel accounts also played a significant role in promoting these narratives. Eli David emerged as one of the leading voices attacking Egypt’s national team after the Palestinian flag was raised, publishing widely circulated posts and images related to the Egypt-Gaza border.

Spanish-language accounts also helped broaden the campaign’s reach, including Isaac and Sissi Emperatriz, both of whom promoted claims concerning Egypt’s border with Gaza alongside criticism of the players’ religious expressions.

Another prominent participant was Eyal Yaakoby, who targeted both the Egyptian and Moroccan teams using narratives centered on Palestine, Gaza, and Islamic identity.

The overlap between Western right-wing accounts and Israeli or pro-Israel accounts demonstrates that the campaign was not simply a response to a single event. Instead, it reflected a broader pattern targeting Arab participation in the tournament by portraying Palestine, Islamic identity, and Arab celebrations as sources of threat or instability.

Accounts Displaying Suspicious Characteristics

The analysis also identified a cluster of accounts exhibiting indicators commonly associated with suspicious activity, including limited reach, unclear identities, and recent creation dates. While these indicators alone do not prove coordinated behavior, they strengthen the possibility that low-credibility accounts contributed to amplifying hostile narratives against Egypt’s national team, particularly when considered alongside synchronized activity and repeated messaging.

The first indicator was their limited audience. Misbar identified 18,545 accounts with fewer than 100 followers each, collectively producing 30,300 posts. Although these accounts had little individual influence, they became significantly more visible through coordinated participation in a much larger wave of engagement.

A review of a sample of these accounts also revealed a frequent absence of identifiable personal or professional information. Many relied on pseudonyms, generic profile images, or vague biographies, making it difficult to distinguish authentic individuals from accounts potentially created to amplify online discourse.

The third indicator involved the accounts' creation dates. Analysis showed a noticeable increase in recently created accounts, suggesting that newer accounts played a substantial role in amplifying the discussion when considered alongside the other indicators.

According to the account creation data, 373 accounts were created in 2023, 1,187 in 2024, 1,234 in 2025, and 1,032 in 2026, for a total of 3,825 recently created accounts. While this does not by itself demonstrate coordinated activity, it constitutes another indicator that gains significance when viewed alongside the broader pattern of suspicious characteristics identified during the analysis.

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