An executive with the Football Association (FA), the group that oversees the English Premier League, has resigned from his position after a social media post in which he claimed that Hitler would be proud of Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu.
Wasim Haq, who had already been serving a suspension for the inflammatory November 11 post, officially resigned on Thursday.
In the post, which Haq deleted, he wrote, “Netanyahu has sacrificed his own people to maintain power…whilst #Palestinians are trying to maintain their sanity. Adolf Hitler would be proud of Benjamin Netanyahu.”
In a subsequent post, Haq denied being an antisemite.
View of the FIFA logo on a flag during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Group F match between Canada and Morocco at Al Thumama Stadium on December 01, 2022, in Doha, Qatar. (Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
In his resignation, Haq chalked his post up to “heightened emotions.”
“It is with great sadness that I inform you of my decision to resign as a member of the FA Council with immediate effect,” Haq said.
“As someone who has worked closely with many Jewish people over the years and created meaningful and valued friendships, the most painful part of this process is knowing that some of those friends and colleagues may not forgive me for the misunderstanding and hurt I have unintentionally caused. I take full responsibility and reiterate my apology to them and all those affected.”
Haq says that the real target of his post was Netanyahu, not the Israeli people.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a speech during his visit to an Israeli uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) centre, at the Palmachim Airbase near the city of Rishon LeZion on July 5, 2023. (JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)
“In expressing those feelings, I chose the wrong words entirely and that has impacted the leadership position that I hold at the FA,” he explained.
“Following the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas there are heightened emotions all around. I, like millions of others, have been deeply disturbed by the huge loss of life, this war has become a painful slaughter of innocent adults and children – a war that humanity should have avoided.”
In addition to his resignation, “Haq has also been sacked from his role as an independent councilor at the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), the national governing body of tennis in Great Britain, while he is also being investigated by England Golf, where he holds a role similar to that at the FA,” Reuters reports.