Uefa rolled out a giant banner ahead of Wednesday night's Super Cup final between Paris Saint-Germain and Tottenham Hotspur with the message: “Stop Killing Children. Stop Killing Civilians.”
The banner was laid out in front of the teams before kick off at the Stadio Friuli in Udine, Italy.
“The message is loud and clear,” European football's governing body said in an accompanying post on X. “A banner. A call.”
The gesture came just days after Uefa were called out by Liverpool striker Mohamed Salah over a tribute to a revered Palestinian footballer who was killed by Israeli fire in Gaza.
Salah, one of the Arab world's biggest sports stars, criticised the football association for declining to mention Gaza in a statement about Suleiman Al Obaid, 41, who was shot dead while waiting for food in Rafah last week.
Uefa's statement read: “Farewell to Suleiman Al Obeid, the “Palestinian Pele”. A talent who gave hope to countless children, even in the darkest of times.”
Posting to his X account, which has more than 19 million followers, Salah wrote: “Can you tell us how he died, where, and why?”
The players of PSG and Tottenham lined up behind the banner ahead of kick off. The match was won by PSG on penalties after a 2-2 draw in 90 minutes.
On Tuesday, the Uefa Foundation for Children announced its latest initiative to help children affected by war in different parts of the world – a partnership with Medecins du Monde, Medecins Sans Frontieres and Handicap International.
They are charities “providing vital humanitarian help for the children of Gaza,” Uefa said in a press release.
Following Obeid's death, the Palestinian Football Association reported that the former international was just one of hundreds of athletes to have been killed in Gaza. At least 662 sports people and their relatives are reported to have died during Israeli assaults.
Al Obaid made 19 appearances with the Palestine national team, playing in the Asian Cup, Pan Arab Games and Fifa World Cup qualifiers.
Gaza aid queues have become death traps for starving Palestinians. An investigation by The National has revealed a pattern of "systematic killing of Palestinians by the Israeli army and private contractors while attempting to collect aid".
