Fortuna Dusseldorf defend decision to cancel Shon Weissman transfer over Gaza posts

Club say player's social media activity 'not consistent with our values'

Israel forward Shon Weissman saw a move to Fortuna Dusseldorf fall through over his social media activity. AFP

The chairman of Fortuna Dusseldorf has defended the club’s decision to pull out of signing Israeli player Shon Weissman following a fan backlash.

Supporters of the German Bundesliga 2 club protested over Weissman's contentious social media posts about Gaza, prompting the club to abandon their plans to sign him.

That has led to accusations of anti-Semitism, but chairman Klaus Allofs described such criticism as “absurd”.

Dusseldorf announced last week that they would not sign Weissman from Spanish team Granada despite having been in advanced negotiations.

Fans had opposed the planned signing of the 29-year-old Weissman because of his social media posts expressing support for Israel’s conduct in Gaza.

Weissman's Instagram account was set to “private” on Saturday.

In a social media post on Tuesday announcing the decision, the club did not say why it had called off the transfer.

But Fortuna issued a statement on Friday saying Weissman's “statements on social media and the subsequent handling of them were not consistent with our values”.

Chairman Allofs defended the club's decision before their match against Hannover on Saturday, but acknowledged it could have been handled better.

“I wouldn’t say it was a mistake. We tried to sign a player and I think that’s legitimate,” Allofs said.

“It’s also part of our values, that we don’t limit ourselves with prejudices and rule things out from the start.”

Allofs said the club deliberately waited to consult with Jewish community members in Dusseldorf before deciding against the signing.

Asked about claims of anti-Semitism, Allofs said: “It’s absurd, to put it bluntly.”

Weismann repsonded to the failed transfer with a statement saying he objected to being "painted as someone who promoted hate".

Israel's air and ground campaign has killed tens of thousands of people in Gaza, displaced most of the population, destroyed vast areas and pushed the territory towards famine.

The campaign is a response to the attacks of October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel, killing around 1,200 people and abducting 251 people.

Shortly after those attacks, Weissman sat out of Granada's Spanish league game at Osasuna over security concerns.

Authorities had been worried about a potentially hostile atmosphere created by Osasuna supporters angered by Weissman's social media posts.